Vale of Avalon
by funanyaTHEmute
Summary: -Discontinued- A human girl trapped in the deadly affairs of vampires can never be a good thing. Takuma/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Vale of Avalon**

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Really, if I owned or made any profit off Vampire Knight or this story, would it be published on Fanfiction? I don't honestly know why I bother with these things...

* * *

_The ones who suck people's life blood,_

_beasts who take on a human shape._

_That is... a vampire._

_People must not go near vampires._

_If they go near them, they will be captured by those eyes._

* * *

"Kyaa! Wild-senpai!"

"Idol-senpai! How are you today?"

Aidou released a debonair chuckle. "Konbanwa, pretty ladies! I hope none of you girls will catch a cold for waiting out here in this chilly weather. Can you forgive me for taking so long to come out?"

**"KYAAAH!!! Mochiron!!"**

I sighed lightly, nibbling on my bottom lip. If the girls had any sense at all, they wouldn't even bother standing around in this mob just to wet themselves over the Night Class boys. I couldn't even use the argument that they were silly freshmen - half were in the same year as myself (juniors) or even seniors. But honestly, what sort of idiot would freeze outside in the middle of January just for a glimpse at the handsome men?

...Me, apparently.

I shifted awkwardly, hunching behind the frenzied teens. At least the tightly-packed cabal was successful as a mass heater; even the occasional prod or accidental elbow in the ribs kept me on my toes and distracted from the weather. Call me crazy, but even I wasn't inhuman enough to deny this routine. It wasn't that I was particularly meek or unwilling to go against the crowd - conformity wasn't high on my priorities. It was just...

Takuma was so _cute_!

No, maybe 'cute' wasn't the right word. He was older than me (at least, I thought so. What grade were those Night Class students in, anyway?), complaisant, sweet, smart...but could I actually say even that much? All the day class referred to the nocturnal shift as 'senpai', but how old were they; what year, exactly? They were all known to be exceptional, understood by us day-dwellers as the elite of the student body. Could we really know that, though? All we had to go by were the assumptions and rumors made during this brief passing period. The only thing I could be positive of was the fact that Takuma -and all the rest of them- was completely gorgeous.

And that was enough for most of the female population.

"Oei! Get back! You can't go any farther!"

My gaze left the lean blond boy, shifting over to the tiny girl drowning against the huddle of her piers. I was quite impressed with Yuuki's dedication: for someone so petite, her spirit still managed to hold off a herd of insane spectators.

I winced, coughing to the side sheepishly and rubbing my coated arm. I kept forgetting that, by being here, I was forced to include myself in that group. Maybe I wasn't as enthusiastic in the worship, but my teeth were still chattering as I watched on.

"Yuuki..."

I wasn't sure how I had picked up on the husked voice from under all the pitched twittering, but Kaname's advance was enough of a tip-off as to the offender. He came to a controlled halt, gazing down at the freshman girl with suffocating eyes. Even from this distance, I could feel my own knees beginning to buckle (he wasn't exactly an ogre, that Kuran.) How was Yuuki still standing so calmly? I could only imagine if Takuma were to accost me like like, singling me from a gargantuan throng of attractive girls. There would most definitely be more of an extreme reaction than lingering blushes and tremulous tones.

"K-Kaname-senpai..." Yuuki's voice stuttered softly. Even in her nerves, the calm intrepidity of her words was more than I could ever muster.

My breath faltered, eyes squinting just to make sure I was seeing things right. The way they were looking at one another... it was like the stare of lovers! The enamor was easily visible between the two, attraction practically setting sparks off. Kaname-senpai and Yuuki...could it really be true? I had noticed it before, of course: Kaname had always made some sort of effort to approach the Kurosu girl on most days. However, the sheer shock of it all was hitting me full blast, realization intensified. How? When had they gotten the chance to become so close? Why was she so lucky?!

Of course - she was a prefect. She and that scary young man I had never officially met. The idea had always seemed queer to me: two mere prefects to control this sycophant crowd? It didn't seem to make any sense from my perspective. And, judging by Yuuki's increasing nap-attacks in the classroom (or so I've heard - news travels fast around the school, even between grade levels, as long as it concerned the Night Class and the two living barricades separating _them_ from _us_), it should have been obvious to anyone that the teens were overwhelmed. I wondered if it was as simple as asking the chairman to become one of Yuuki's fellows. Could I simply stroll into his office and offer my assistance? I didn't see why not - it wasn't such a clandestine position. My only point against the suggestion was the reality that no one had ever done it before, to my knowledge. If the girls were so desperate to become closer to the mysteriously devilish boys, why didn't they just join the Disciplinary Committee? It was easy access; no restraint.

The obvious answer made me snort. Duh - the chairman, or Yuuki at the very least, would know the females' reputation better than anyone. He would see straight through such a flagrant tactic. But still, what if? It wasn't all too risky a endeavor: the worst that could happen was I would be politely turned away - I didn't see a problem with asking. My intent was pure enough, and it was all in the approach. I would go and see the chairman right after the Night Class were locked away in their lessons and propose the idea. _'Yuuki needs her rest,'_ I would point out to the caring father, '_and the more help she has, the more time would be freed for her school work, sleep, and family bonding time.' _I wouldn't have great trouble in taking charge of the girls and Takuma would be sure to notice my addition and loyalty to the job; I would guard him with my life, if it came down to it! Yuuki, weak and weary in her fatigue, could certainly use the cover. I had never been a problem for her during any of these gatherings - I wouldn't doubt if she had never noticed me at all, my reserved nature instantly overshadowed by the more forward huntings of the others. Chairman Kurosu just couldn't deny me!

It was brilliant, playing off the man's most sensitive yearning. How could he reject a young woman so dutifully looking out for his beloved daughter's best interest and offering more opportunities for family visits?

Oh, I was starting to sound like some type of conniving villain, wasn't I? No, I assure you it isn't like that! I really did care for Yuuki's health, mind you, and that was truly one of the driving aspects of my upcoming interview. The proximity to Takuma was simply an added holiday bonus.

_'Takuma and I,' _I thought, eyes longingly glued to Kaname and Yuuki, _'...could be just like them...'_

"Uhm, Miss?"

A gentle finger prodded at my arm, forcing my bodily reaction to overthrow wants of eavesdropping. My attention veered from the possibly flirting pair into emerald green eyes.

Emerald eyes? ...And blond hair...?

Ichijou Takuma grinned down at me, lily-pad orbs glittering like a real-life lake.

I stopped breathing. Apparently, aphasia was a common side-effect when dealing with the Nigh Class. All girls lost the use and understanding of words?

"Oh, you're alright then! Thank goodness! I was a bit worried since you were just standing way over here by yourself with a strange look on your face."

I forced my lids to blink, keeping them closed to hold back from getting distracted by him; I tried to focus on his meaning rather than silken voice. He had said something about being worried for me, hadn't he? He noticed!

...Because I had been standing off to the side by myself with a strange look on my face...

Like combustive chemicals, my eyes snapped open, gasp the volume of a rocket launch (the cloud of smoke made from my breath meeting the frigid air made a perfect fume effect of the machine as well.) Takuma startled back, surely frightened at the sudden spasm. Darting my neck to each corner of the clearing, I swiftly realized that the surrounding land was barren within a ten meter radius, the crowd of girls having drifted over in pursuit of a frolicking Hanabusa. How long ago had it been since they had served as my protective veil? Was I exposed for so long as to caught even Takuma's attention? With my 'strange' expression?

He called me strange!

I felt like crying. Why had I been such a dork? I should have stayed watchful over my own cover, not spied on others' private relations! What had I been thinking? We were supposed to meet as I held off his dangerous admirers and he singled me out to profess his appreciation; not here, like this! It could have been hour, for all I knew, since I had been poised here, fiddling and fantasizing in my lonesome. No wonder Takuma had come up to me - he though I was crazy! Without any companions! A desperate harpy! Like them - the fan girls!

"M-miss? Please, don't look so troubled! Is there anything I can do to help?"

I couldn't suppress a whimper (or was it a more of a crazed moan?) at his generous offer, the nurturing hand he had placed at my shoulder almost sending my hormones through the roof. He cautioned at the noise, inching his arm away and face scrunched up in careful confusion. Teeth stabbed my lower lip, eyelids crashing closed and face pivoting to the opposite side. He was just so good! Too good. Such chivalric ways were barely escaping extinction during these current pop-culture days. It really wasn't any wonder where my attraction had come from: the boy was comparable to the gods, for heaven's sake! How could I possibly justify being in his presence? Did I deserve his care? Was I worthy of his worry?

...No! Or course not! I shouldn't be claiming even a moment of his attention!

"I promise, I don't mind at all! There's no need to be making such a fuss. Tell me what's wrong - pretty girls shouldn't be so discontent."

My heart stalled as those words left his mouth, blood freezing in my veins in a way that made me certain he was aware of the fluid's jolt. What was it he had said? Did he just call me...

It was pure instinct that drove me to look back up, finding his eyes and catching the delusional fever. I was utterly lost in the limitless depths, not a shade out of place or sparkle left untwinkling in those rounded oculars. He visually relaxed as I came out from the traumatized stupor, a smile gracing his rosen lips and aura almost literally glowing a brilliant gold. His mouth opened, forming mute words that passed straight through my unhearing ears. Lord, his hand was back on my elbow! Was that the reason for that rushing 'whoosh!' sound blocking out his voice? But I wanted to hear him, too! Why was my body reacting in such a way? I didn't want Takuma to be pushed aside at a time like this - he was actually here speaking with me. Caressing me, even! I hadn't meant it to be serious when I awed at Yuuki's bravery when compared to mine in this situation. Heaven couldn't have provided more ecstacy.

"Ichijou."

Our heads snapped -as one, dare I say it- towards the source of the interruption, finding Kaname standing (as expressive as a statue, like he always seemed to be when not uniting with the female prefect) a ways up the dirt path leading to the classrooms, eyes intimidating in their piercing stare. Each of the other white-clad Night Class students flanked his steps, their Dorm Leader's lingering attention leading their interest over to Takuma and I. And, continuously watching out for the objects of their affection, the Day Class girls had traced their focus onto us as well. Soon enough, every eye within the gathering seemed to be drilling into my skull.

I reddened under all of the attention, fists clenching nervously. I wasn't particularly found of the spotlight, even less so when I was caught in such a vulnerable position. It just had to have happened that very moment, hadn't it? Kaname couldn't have kept his nose lowered for even a few seconds more? Who knows what that time could have brought?! What if my hearing was just about to kick back in to life? What if Takuma had been about to say something life changing? What if he was one breath away from bending down and...well...

"Ichijou, you know we can't stay. Hurry up."

I, even in this petrified state, noted the undertone of a double-meaning in Kaname's words of warning. Takuma obviously understood both interpretations instantly, releasing my arms like our connection had been nothing more than platonic and sending one last, dazzling smile down my way.

"Ja ne, Miss. Take care."

Three heart beats (and a parting pat on the head for myself) later, the group of beautiful students were making their way into the distance, Takuma having easily caught up and chatting animatedly with the powerful man to his right. My brain remained in a stunned silence, not quiet making sense of those final happenings. The Night Class had left - I knew that much. But Takuma had been here, holding my shoulders, _talking_ to **me**.

I would have jumped off the tower had I been on it - I felt as though I could fly with elation, heart already soaring.

By the time my instincts had kicked in and allowed my eyes to blink, the Night Class was nothing more than a faded speck in the distance. The world rushed back into realistic time and sound with a cinematic snap, my lungs jumping as though struck by lightening. I sucked in air, rather ungraceful in the process, but thought nothing of my appearance. Takuma -THE Ichijou Takuma, vice-president of the renowned Night Class and one of the most eligible bachelor's on campus, had just been standing right in front of me and conversing. Never before outside of my dreams had anything so thrilling come close happening! It was stupid, I know, getting so worked up over a boy and his surely chaste touches, but...

Could you blame me, really?! I could die! It didn't matter how it had happened - it _did_. Maybe the circumstances could have been more appealing on my part (I would have rather not have him think of me as a mentally unstable, friendless and needy young woman) but it had gotten him to come over! Would he feel compelled to check up on me again? If I came back tomorrow afternoon, would he walk up to me, grinning and asking how I've been?

I certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to see.

I felt my lips curling up, teeth fully exposed in my moment of euphoria. It wasn't until minutes after the nocturnal group had disappeared into the castle-like building did I find it in me to turn away, almost instantly pulsing at a hunched form in the center of the clearing.

Yuuki sat in the middle of the dirt path, breathing heavily and muttering what I could only assume to be angry profanities under her breath. I raised a brow, questioning her abnormal behavior. Was wrangling the girls really so tiresome?

Blinking dubiously, I twitched my lips to the side, sauntering up to her without a second thought. It was odd how abruptly both my personality and esteem changed depending on my comapany - if this had been a Night Class member curled up in the road, I probably would have frozen in my steps and mentally sped through every possible outcome to my approach until the day was spent, delirious and panicking all the while. Here with my kouhai, a complete stranger - there as no hesitance at all.

Or maybe it was gender in general? I couldn't deny that typically any male, whether diurnal or not, stimulated some form of a character change in me. It was a simple diagnosis: boys made me nervous. They didn't even have to be so angelic in appearance as Takuma - the basic gist of it was, as vulgar as it sounds, that any of the testosteroned and penis-bearing sex triggered a surging rage in my personality. I was lucky enough to channel that chemical unbalance in fidgets and discomfort rather than confident action, however. Frankly, I'd rather be this awkward self of mine than one of those flinging fangirls. I got the feeling that anyone would be less hesitant to engage themselves with someone like me than a girl they could count on to jump them at any moment.

Well, at least the people _I _would be willing to become close to. But maybe that was just my wishful way of thinking?

The lopsided smirk curling onto my face became twinged with amusement as I ceased my journey, stopping and waiting patiently for the mumbling girl to let go of her dark grumbles and notice my approach. She remained seated, fingers digging into the dirt to aid in releasing that not-so-pent-up hostility. Eventually, with one last willowing exhale, the younger girl promptly grunted, lifted herself to her feet, turned, and screamed.

I flinched at the pitch oif her cry, cowering back as her hands clamped over her mouth to shut out the noise emmiting. I settled as her chest heaved, unique bownish-red eyes wide and getting over a fearful shock. I giggled under my breath, finding this entire situation rather funny for some reason. She calmed enough to lower her arms, respiration stabling and eyes falling into a narrow.

"Senpai! What are you still doing out here? It's almost dark - curfew will be any minute!"

My smile vanished, face curious. Had I really been out here day-dreaming for so long?

Yuuki released a sigh, slumping forward as the air left her. I squinted, emotions replaced with a sense of guilt and pity for the girl. I suppose it was too much responsibility for only one person (or was it two? Where was the other boy, anyway?) to bear. I had heard a rumor that they even had nightly patrolling duties - it was no wonder they were always falling asleep in class! When did they find the time to sleep? Chairman Kurosu had to be crazy the hold such a heavy burden over these children.

I had to help them. It wasn't about Takuma anymore - it was simple inhumane to allow this schedule to continue for the two kouhai. This was a matter of child labor laws! I could almost guarentee it wasn't legal -or healthy- for the Chairman to require this kind of load for full-time students. It was a point I'd have to bring up in our meeting...

Mind resolved, I decided then and there that tonight was the night. I would go and see the Chairman right now, this instant. It was non-negotiable. Bring it on.

"Etou, senpai...?"

My throat hitched. I had spaced out again, hadn't I?

"Yuuki," I addressed the girl authoritatively, quickly covering up my fault. She straightened, shoulders pulling back as she gave her -albeit suspicious- attention. "Shouldn't there have been someone else here to help you?"

With that matter pointed out her face altered considerably, taking on the same irate aura that had plagued her minutes ago. It became no doubt to me that her own side-track had everything to do with the missing guardian in question.

"Zero ditched me again," she seethed, seeming to growl more to herself than me as she glared off into the distance with clenched fists. "He does this all the time! If he shows up all all, it's almost always late..."

I frowned, wishing the boy was here so he could take the full effect of my scowl. The jerk, leaving this kind of chaos dumped on a girl to deal with. What was he thinking? The selfish little brat!

As ill as my feelings towards the boy (what kind of name was 'Zero' anyway? It just reeked 'delinquent') I couldn't help but swell with hope. If the second prefect was as bad as Yuuki was saying, it made my job all the more easier; with this sort of evidence backing up my proposition to become a disciplinary member, the incompetence show by the male only gave me an upper edge. How horribly could I really compare to a person like that? Perhaps it wasn't about joining the crew, but replacing one of the current members? I'd leave it open as a second options. Either way, that boy was going to get some sense beaten into him. He needed to learn some of those gentlemanly traits from the Night Class, honestly. I made a mental note to pencil in a confrontation with him eventually as well.

But first...

"Ja, Yuuki," I dismissed airily, holding up a hand as I spun on the spot and began my stomping march towards the chairman's office. I barely took notice of her perplexed farewell, my mind charged and focused on only one thing.

* * *

"No?" I gasped, flabbergasted. Chairman Kurosu shook his head, expression sullen.

"No," he confirmed, brow creasing lightly at my dumbfounded face. I couldn't believe it - I couldn't even comprehend this! It was like he knew the answer before I had even presented my argument: it had been a 'no' from the start. Why? I just didn't understand!

The older man sighed lightly, the silent exhale long and backed with thought. As easily as he crushed my hopes, at least he was feeling guilty about it.

"I'm sorry," he began, seeming to choose each words carefully while his tone gave away little more than a soupçon of regret. "...but adding a new student to perform the guardian duties is just out of the question at this time. Please understand that this isn't only based on my choice; it's in your best interest."

My eyebrows furrowed, sharp tongue countering back before I could think the words through. "In my best interest? How could rejecting me be 'in my best interest'? From what I've seen, Yuuki's more or less alone out there! It's not like I'm asking to join the Night Class - I just want to help Yuuki tame the trouble that surrounds them!" My face sunk, eyes tendering with some helpless emotion. "I don't get why you're refusing that..."

Chairman Kurosu held our stare, his golden gaze hard and penetrating. I nearly gulped, not knowing what sort of subliminal message he was trying to convey in the connection. Why was it such a big deal? He acted as if it were my life at stake with these prefect duties. If he could risk Yuuki, his own adopted daughter, with those dangers, then why was I any different? I was fully capable - I could help! Did he doubt my reliability or worth?

The tensed moment broke as he closed his eyes, head tilting downward and chin resting to his knuckles. "My decision stands, Enrai-san. You don't give Zero enough credit - he's more involved in this than you think, no matter how rough around the edges. Nevertheless, you will not be joining Yuuki and Zero as a guardian."

My jaw clenched, teeth grinding in a mixture of anger and devastating defeat. This wasn't fair at all! He had no right! 'In my best interest!' What the hell was that?! Somehow this wasn't about boys or helping - this was discrimination. There was no reason to deny my application. I deserved the truth, at the very least. This intransigent 'in my best interest' wouldn't be enough to cut it and settle my mind.

"There is much more behind the prefect duties and responsibilities than you could ever understand, Eden."

The quintessence of his timing was undeniable. My face snapped upwards, our eyes joining focus with chilling intensity. I barely breathed, body only focusing on figuring out this arcane chain of events. There was something going on here, something bigger than I had originally guessed. What kind of justification was this? His words made it sound like we were in some kind of horror story. Using my first name like that and sounding so serious? This couldn't have been a joke, right?

My spine bristled, chills slithering along my arms and leaving goose-bumps along my skin. The expression carved into the man's face suddenly seemed so saturnine. He had aged twenty years right before my very eyes, it seemed. I choked on air, teeth sinking into my lower lip. This was too much to process right now - I needed to be alone. He didn't want me as part of the team? Then fine. But whatever he was doing was crossing the line. Those haunting little hints he was dropping were getting to be a bit much. I had wanted answers, yes, but not to be backed into a corner.

I straightened my stance, contorting my face to mask any fear that might have been slipping into my visage. "I accept your judgment, Chairman Kurosu. Good night."

Kurosu Academy's founder and chairman had always struck me as an extremely agreeable person. He was exuberant, cheerful, and always looking out for the safety of his students. One thing that I could ever imagine him to be, however, was... _scary_. I was unnerved to turn my back on him as I brisked out of his office.

My back flattened against the closed door, chest heaving with deep inhales. Out of the room and alone in the darkened hallway, I felt just as claustrophobic and spooked as I has inside. With a single sentence, the Chairman had turned the entire school into some hellish graveyard waiting to attack. Evil eyes bore into me on all sides, ill-intent clouding up my path as far as I could see.

There was something strange going on here: things weren't right. That meeting back there, those words... it was begging me to exhume the reality. Whether Chairman Kurosu had been warning or coaxing me, I wasn't sure. If this had meant to frighten me away, I wasn't so sure it had had the desired effect. As eerie as it was, I felt compelled to follow through and discover whatever it was the founder was holding back. With those peculiar explanations and morose emotions, it seemed more like a part of him _wanted _me to go and find out. The man had flashed that trace right before my eyes and then shooed me away with his reverse psychology: dangling the bait and then hanking it away. He had planted the seed in my mind, and refused to give it water.

But if he wasn't willing to help me with that, I would just have to dig it up for myself. There had to be some sort of secret that was holding me back from the position. Mark my words - I would uncover the truth behind the hidden identity surrounding the prefects.

* * *

"Enrai Eden," Kurosu Kaien murmured, watching as the teen girl in question dashed out of the building toward her dorms. As the name escaped his lips he pursed the appendages, eyes narrowing.

"Your getting yourself into more than you can handle. Be careful, since you seem to find it necessary to get involved."

* * *

**(A/N)Um, New Year, new story? Yay, Happy 2009!**

**First of all, I have to tell you guys that I'm no expert with Vampire Knight and might need a little help getting my facts straight for this first fic. I understand the basic story line well enough, but I haven't seen or read all the episodes and manga; some of my details might not be right or they could be missing/ignoring something important. For example, is Yuuki actually a freshman? That age matches up, but then she and Zero shouldn't really be in the same class since he's supposed to be a year older (not that it's such a big deal.) And what about the Night Class? Are grades ever mentioned for them? I'm sorry if my own ignorance is offensive to any fans DX**

**Musical Inspiration:** (My Sweet) Eden** by** NICO Touches the Walls**. Any wonder where I got the OC's name from?**

**Please tell me what you think or point out any flaws!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Vale of Avalon**

Chapter Two

* * *

Class passed by in a dragging blur, the day inching along torturously as I passed from class to class. At the same time, that same period of space seemed to take up the length of a blink as I looked back on it during dinner. My mind had been in a garbled fog, entire state of being not capable of anything more than staring blankly at any wall I came across. I guess I could take this as a reference - I didn't take rejection very well at all.

Despite any internal convincing, I knew the denial itself wasn't my only problem. Chairman Kurosu's abnormal behavior had struck a chord. Every moment since that confrontation had the gears in my head turning, bringing up any possibility into the forefront of my mind. Was his eerie warning something about the risks of being a member of the Disciplinary Committee at all? The job couldn't be nearly as dangerous as he was making it sound. What else could be wrong here, then? What sort of secrets could a boarding school possibly hold? It wasn't like there were some sort of ravaging monsters roaming around waiting to attack, for goodness sake!

Whatever it was, I couldn't help but cling to the idea that it was _something_. The Chairman had been uncharacteristically adamant about leaving one of his students out of the loop; Usually, the man would have been overjoyed at the prospect of one of his protege offering their time to his services. His reaction had been anything but thrilled. No matter what the exact details of his confusing turn to a 'normal' principal were, I had enough sense in me to figure out it was far more important than a simple 'it's in you best interest.' The explanation was just as nonsensical now as it was back when the chairman had said it.

"Yo, Eden-chan. Is there something on the ceiling that's more interesting than talking to us?"

A lightning current zapped through the length of my limbs, body jolting and hair standing on end. Damn it! I forgot that this was _dinner_. I couldn't get away with spacing out as easily here as I had in class - I would have been happily chatting away on any other day. Common sense told me that I shouldn't be sharing my experience with the Chairman with any of the girls. Besides giving them the very same idea I had attempted to carry out last night (although, I now knew for a fact that Chairman Kurosu would refuse them just as easily as he had done to me; there was no competition anymore) I doubt that I could give any justice at all to the description of our sinister meeting. They would simply dismiss it as me being paranoid or a sore loser. No, I had to keep this myself for now. Until I had pieced it all together and figured it out...

"Um, Enrai-chan? Is there something wrong?"

I blinked, looking up at the girl seated across from me. I recognized her as Mari, a classmate. We were acquaintances, not quite at a friendship level in our relationship. She was nice enough, helpful and polite, but not exactly the personality that would stand out in a crowd or call for remembrance. If it hadn't been for the fact that we had been school mates for so long, I doubt I would have ever learned her name at all. The only time she seemed to speak up at all was when showing her concern; other wise, the fellow junior was just another faceless student.

"Ah, no, I'm fine," I smiled, speaking delicately towards the girl. Her lips twitched back in my direction, instantly giving the impression that I wasn't fooling her at all with the act. I only allowed a moment of panic, however, before realizing I had nothing to worry about: she barely talked at all, never mind bringing up some useless gossip behind my back. It wasn't in her nature.

"Oh, leave her alone. She's probably just thinking about _Takuma-sama_!"

Zuri, on the other hand...

"Ha ha, that's right! Eden has a crush on Ichijou-senpai, doesn't she? That works out perfectly! Now each of us had our own favorite in the Night Class and we won't have to fight over them!"

Madoka, well...she was a bit too dim to read into much of anything on her own. A trait I relished in at the moment. The girl was the self-proclaimed number one fan of a certain Kain Akatsuki. I guess that was why she and Zuri got along so well as best friends - they were apparently 'in love' with the two cousins and hoped to one day be related through marriage.

I giggled, hoping to fool my two friends, at least, with the front. "Jeez, you caught me! I'm sorry, but I just can't get him off of my mind. He looked so handsome last night, didn't he...?"

Even if I could _think_ those same words without a problem, saying them aloud was almost enough for me to gag. Could I sound any cheesier?

Zuri and Madoka squealed in unison, joining their hands in excitement. Zuri took the lead and spoke first. "Yeah, he was alright, but did you get a look at Aidou! Kyaa, he's such a hunk!!"

I couldn't hold back a genuine laugh at her wording. I don't think I had ever heard the phrase 'hunk' as an adjective outside of a movie before. Zuri noticed my humor, smirking as she flicked a bit of potato towards me from her supper tray.

"Oh, shut it, you! Like you could think of any better way to express just how wonderful _your _dear Takuma is!"

I grinned, only then taking a look at what food I had picked out to eat. A fajita, really? Whose idea was it to have a western styled theme tonight? And whose idea was it to let me choose this as a meal? I had to make some kind of mental note to never order food while I was mentally comatose. The bright side - perfect ammunition.

Zuri yelped as a few strands of shredded cheese landed in her hair, hands jumping up to comb through the long locks of brunette mane. My eyes flashed mischievously, lips letting out a snicker without shame. "Actually, I could. And nothing as lame as calling him a '_hunk_!' We're not nine years old anymore, after all."

The girl humphed, carefully picking the bits out and tossing them onto her own plate. When she looked up, the devilish curl of her lips wasn't exactly as I had expected. She cast a perfunctory glance to each side before leaning in over that table, beckoning the rest of us to do the same. We followed, the four of us bent over our food and probably looking like some kind of plotting trouble makers to any onlookers.

"Speaking of our darling Nigh Class boys," Zuri purred, biting her lips in excitement. "... Madoka and I have been thinking about paying them a little visit some time. What do you say? Is tonight the night, ladies?"

I blinked dubiously, tilting my head in confusion. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Zuri rolled her eyes, obviously too eager to deal with my lack of understanding. "What do you think it means? We're going to sneak out and find the Night Class, duh! Madoka did get that new camera for her birthday, you know. We can take some pictures of them hard at work in class and stare at them all day long!"

A pregnant pause passed over the group. The still silence was broken only as Mari (surprisingly) voiced her opinion. "Isn't that, like... against the rules? You could get into a lot of trouble for that! I don't think it's a very good plan..."

The idea sounded completely idiotic to me. Skulking around in the dark after hours and peeping in on their studies? Typical stalker material, if you asked me. It was stupid, unthought-out, and just plain creepy. They were sure to be caught by the prefects and have any artwork they managed to capture confiscated.

Wait...

A figurative light bulb flashed above my head, and suddenly the world slowed in it's spin. The Disciplinary Committee, of course! They would be sure to catch us if we snuck out after hours to spy on the Night Class. The only function I had ever seen the prefects perform seemed to be catering the those nocturnal students, after all. Whose to say anything against their main focus being a body guard of sorts to the Night Class? It made perfect sense - why hadn't I put it together before? The prefects must _exist_ to watch over the Night Class!

And another point: why? Why did the Night Class need the protection? Was it only for the adoring fans that chased them so relentlessly? I couldn't help but deny that idea; the school wouldn't waste any budget or effort towards that task. They could simply make some sort of punishment for any girls who overstayed their welcome. Or better yet, why did all of the gorgeous teens have to be grouped together? It was practically discrimination to segregate the beautiful from the average like that! What made them so special that they differed from the Day Class enough to have their own separate schooling schedule? They obviously didn't need any extra _beauty sleep_, but did they really need an entirely clashing time frame from the rest of us?

The realization made me rethink the situation completely. Why had I never thought of _why _we had a Night Class in the first place? What was the purpose of it? I had never questioned it before - it had always just been accepted as a tutorial unique to Kurosu Academy. What made those students so much better? Was it only me who was just now finding it weird that _every single one_ _of them_ just so happened to be breathtakingly handsome? If I suddenly decided to sleep during the day and become active only once the sun set, would I become a goddess, too?

No, it was impossible! Patterns of rest had almost nothing to do with your appearance (not as drastically as I was insinuating, anyway.) Just because they were learning as we slept didn't explain anything. Okay, all of the physical evidence aside, what else was I left with to help corroborate their need for protection?

Brains? Were they all at such a greater intellectual scale than us that they, the 'smart people,' needed their own class? That couldn't be right either! I knew for a fact that there were multiple students in the Day Class with perfect 4.0 GPAs, and so much more that were close enough to the feat to be recognized. Grades couldn't have anything to do with it.

What if it wasn't a reason as simple as I had been exploring? Something not the average person would first come up with? Was I wrong in assuming it was _them_ that needed the protection?

That's true - it could be the other way around. The didn't want some kind of secret to get _out_. Well, that really didn't narrow it down. It could be anything! Obviously big enough that they needed the continuous guarding of the students, but not so high-class as to call in professional help or government involvement. It was closely tied down to the school, nothing that would be publicized openly to the outside world.

"Eden!!"

I squawked, jumping out of my chair in fright. The three girls stared on in shock, Zuri's expression mixing with aggravation. It was easy to figure out that she had been the one to holler my name, the idea only finalizing when she continued. "What the heck are you doing? Sit back down!"

I obeyed without question, still wrapping my mind around everything I had just been brooding and storing each detail in my mind for a later time when I could be left in peace. Obviously, I couldn't go into a state of Sherlock Holmes until I was alone and away from this company.

"Are you sure you're alright, Enrai-san?" Mari's introverted tone cut in, genuine concern easily audible. I nodded dimly, hastily pulling myself together enough to grin guiltily.

"Aa, daijoubu! I just got caught up in thinking about Takuma again, I guess..."

Did it say anything about my character that I actually **did **feel bad about using the object of my affection as an excuse? Would Takuma accept me taking advantage of him like this?

Zuri brushed aside my excuse, only offering "Yeah, yeah. I know their all inhumanly beautiful and everything, but get your mind out of the gutter for long enough to tell me whether you're in or not for the stake out tonight!"

One of her words jumped out at me, distracting my train of thought from the point of her ramble. Inhuman. I had never considered it as an adjective to describe them, the Night Class. Now, planted in my mind, it was perfect. Inhuman: it was the exact embodiment of everything the Night Class was.

But how literal would I dare to take it?

"So, are you coming or what?"

* * *

I lied in bed, watching as the sun set through the prosthetic glass of the window. As lonely as it sometimes was, I had never been more glad about the fact that my roommate chose to spend more time with her more 'popular' friends than bonding with me in our shared space. It gave me the ideal opportunity to just sit back and figure things out.

I mentally brought up every point that I had been gathering in the past twenty-four hours, spread out on my back and letting my shoulders sink into the comfort of my pillow. The prefects served to hide some kind of secret concerning the Night Class, taking up a considerable amount of their sleeping time and affecting their schoolwork and daytime awakeness. This point was minor enough for the Chairman to ignore, meaning that the clandestine aura surrounding the Night Class overshadowed his care for his daughter. I would have never thought such a thing would happen.

What if I was looking too much into this? Maybe I really had been delusional when I met with the Chairman last night, or simply not in the right mind after the shock of being turned down as a Disciplinary Committee member. It was plausible, and made much more sense than some supernatural investigation.

But still...

_'There is so much more behind the prefect duties and responsibilities than you could ever understand, Eden.'_

...That didn't exactly strike me as the words of a man who had nothing to hide. He was holding something back, for sure. And the prefects and Night Class were right dab in the middle of it in plain focus. I would be a moron to brush it aside.

Playing with my fingers as they came to a rest on my stomach, I regrouped. Strange things going on between the prefects and Night Class, the principle need to keep them separated from us...

...The inhumaness of it all..

If we found (or were found by) the school's prefects while skulking around outside, we would be close to whatever secret it was they were trying so hard to keep covered up from us. If we found the prefects, we would find the truth behind them...

A soft, pointed knock interrupted my hypothesizing, my body snapping up in the (now, unexpected) darkness.

"Pst, Eden! You ready to go? It's time!"

* * *

"Itai!" I gasped, stumbling over some type of natural element jutting out from the earth. I struggled to regain my footing, managing to keep on my feet, albeit unsteadily. I scowled. As stupid as it would have been to bring along a flashlight, I couldn't think of any better solution to the vision troubles us humans faced once the moon rose. I would just have to wait until my eyes adjusted some more or the lunar rays grew brighter before I could settle in a bit more with my surroundings.

"Shh, Eden! Don't make so much noise or we'll be caught!" Zuri hissed, looking no better off than me as she squinted towards the ground, stepping blindly. The three of us were having some kind of field day running around like headless chickens lost in the school grounds (Mari had decided not to take the chance with this adventure of ours.) I was almost expecting to be the one who broke our record and actually lost their footing. However, it was Madoka who shrieked at that moment, falling to the ground in a muffled heap. Zuri and I startled, tripping over our steps and looking down towards the dark mass of shadow. Luckily, we had stopped in a clearing and, by this time, the moon decided to grace us with it's presence. Using the light to our advantage, we both took to our knees and fended for Madoka.

"Jeez, are you okay?" Zuri questioned, helping the girl to a seated position as she cradled one of her legs. I watched on, not finding an opening to jump in.

"Mm, I think it'll be fine," Madoka nodded, her short, boyish-cut hair fluttering in the light breeze. I took the time to notice how her dark eyes picked up in the moonlight, glowing a strange, deep blue. "It's just a scratch."

Zuri sighed, resting down in a kneel as she tended to Madoka's wound. "We'll have to be careful from now on - at this rate, we'll never get to the Night Class without being found out by one of those pesky prefects!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth did the branches above us shudder from a large weight, a body dropping from it's leaves in the next moment. Kurosu Yuuki stood tall (about three or four inches under my head had I been standing, but intimidating all the same) glaring with an unimaginable authority given her stature and general temperament. I thought of the irony of her arrival in the back of my mind, the main emotion straying along with accomplishment. I felt a slight smirk of approval slithering onto my lips.

We had been caught - why was I so proud of it?

"You guys, what are your names and classes? Wandering around the school at night is strictly prohibited!"

Yuuki took our stunned silence as a chance to adjust her prefect's arm wrap, brandishing it like some kind of police officers' badge. Her expression gradually lost some of the aggression, tone becoming something more of insistent worry.

"It's dangerous out here. Please return to your dorms, quickly."

It was almost funny how her words aligned with her father's warning close to perfectly. It was quite the suggestive match.

"We just came to take some pictures of the Night Class!" Zuri defended, not one to give up so easily. All the same, she refrained from letting any accusation slip into her voice and remained poised and respectful.

Madoka shifted, wobbling up to her feet with a whine. "Isn't it fine just to take a few? Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Zuri asked helplessly, watching Madoka's discomfort from the ground. "Can you walk?"

"You're hurt?!" Yuuki surged forward unexpectedly, rendering each of us into a state of confusion. "Blood is really bad..."

I narrowed my brow, finding her abrupt worry baffling. Why would she instantly care so much once she found out one of us was hurt? Was it such a big deal? What was that she said about blood?

"Return to your dorms, quickly!!"

I stepped back out of reach, choking as the freshman bound towards and gripped Zuri and Madoka by the shoulders, shaking the dramatics of her command into them. What the hell was she doing? I hated to admit it, but this was actually getting a little overwhelming. She was beginning to scare me with her show of panic...

"Nani?!"

"It doesn't matter!! Go quick - "

Yuuki broke off, her eyes snapping over her shoulder. The next events happened in a whirlwind of action, the prefect stepping away and suddenly bashing a long weapon into Kain's Akatsuki's awaiting hand.

"That was close. As to be expected of the Chairman's daughter."

A series of needles prickled along my limbs, breath hitching and chest tightening. Kain and Aidou? What the hell were they doing here? Shouldn't they be in class? When did they arrive, anyway? How could they have snuck up on us?

Why was I so _afraid_ of them...?

"Kain Akatsuki-senpai and Aidou Hanabusa-senpai from the Night Class?!" Madoka shrieked, not in her typical fangirl cry. I was somehow comforted with the fact that I wasn't the only one to figure out that something was oddly wrong here. The notion, however, was gone with the wind as she and Zuri faced each other with a giggle.

"Oh, no way!!!"

I grit my teeth, shaming the two. Couldn't they sense that things weren't okay? No, I guess not. This was what they had wanted - a visit with these very boys standing before us. They wouldn't find anything suspicious about it at all. They didn't know (or suspect) anything that I did. They weren't there with the Chairman, listening to his foreboding admonishes...

They didn't know anything about the trouble going on here. Well, neither did I, distinctly. But I was more well informed then the gullible likes of them, in the very least.

"Ah..."

Adding to the glaringly bad situation, Kain made a strange move of lifted his injured wrist to his mouth as his more extroverted cousin took dominated the conversation.

"We smelled some blood, so we just came to see what happened."

His voice was as charmingly nonchalant as ever, annunciation flawless. Had I not been so distraught and on edge, I would have overlooked the meaning of his speech and focused only on his mouth moving (as I suspected of Madoka and Zuri.) But that wasn't the case. Had he just said... they _smelled_... blood?

"You're so cruel, Yuuki."

The painfully attractive blond boy lifted his head, the eyes that had once shimmered a brilliant blue now literally **glowing** scarlet.

"We... really just wanted to come take a look..."

Never mind. No, I didn't want to find out the Night Class's secret. I wanted to be back in my dorm, asleep, safe, and warm under the covers. Not here. Why did I come? Stupid! Baka! Why hadn't I listened to that nursery rhyme saying 'curiosity killed the cat?' I was an idiot! Moron! Run away! Go back to bed! Leave!

Aidou closed his demonic orbs, lifting his head to caress the win. "Ah, it smells so good.."

Madoka's shrill holler was like a knife jabbing into my spine. "Oh no, what should we do?! He said we smelled nice!!"

Brainless twit! What the hell was she saying?! Didn't she listen to him at all?! Why were they such failures to all of woman kind?! They can't just ignore this animosity because he was pretty! They needed to use they're _head and instincts_!! Everything here was trouble! They are bad!

Yuuki adjusted her weapon, hands gripping the metal pole tightly. I shuddered, realizing only then how close the two of us were. I hurriedly scurried three steps to the side, feeling the lack of protection increase by a ten-fold in that mere meter. I would have never thought the small freshman girl could have given me a sheltered feeling, but it seemed at the time that she was the only one of us to fully understand and be willing (and able, with that electrifying rod) to handle this ordeal, and that was good enough for me. She was prepared and unpertubed. I could accept the fact that I was useless, terrified, and in need of saving - just as long as that savior did they're job and kept me alive and well. I couldn't stand up for myself, I couldn't flee the scene - the sense in the Chairman's resounding premonition was rabidly piecing together right before my very eyes. There was so much going on here that I didn't understand. It was in my best interest to be far, far away...

"Aidou-senpai," Yuuki growled. "If you lay one finger on them I'll - "

Hanabusa ignored her histrionics. His advance only further inerted my body. Yuuki faltered as his hands came to a rest on her baton, one encasing her own on top of the pole.

"Did you fall?"

I felt besieged, unable to move or think at all. They two boys were surrounding me on all sides in each plane, both physically and mentally. I couldn't risk a retreat - they would go after and find me. Yuuki, little Yuuki, wouldn't be there to save me. I could only stand rooted and aghast as they took control over whatever petty reason I had left with their imminent motives and elusive words. I was a damsel in distress. Inundate.

"That good smell I was talking about..." All of the females could only gape in their own form of horror as he grasped Yuuki's hand and lifted it into the open air. "...is your own blood, Yuuki-chan."

Blood? Why were they so obsessed with talking about blood? Blood was gross. People can't smell blood. People don't like blood.

Were these people even people?

Yuuki winced, expression firm. "S-senpai!"

She tried to force her hand out of his, the attempt foiled as he coerced his fingers around he wrist, bringing the injured skin directly into his face. "You're really... tempting me..."

Her blood was tempting him? He thought her blood smelled delicious? He was so aroused that his irises lit up a burning red?

"Really..."

And then... he bit her. With a fang. There were two of them, but he only grazed her palm with one. And then there was more blood, trickling down her -Yuuki's- arm.

"A fang?!"

"A vampire?!"

Vampire? Vampire. I hadn't thought of that. They were vampires? **Are **vampires? Aidou and Kain. They liked blood? They thought blood smelled delicious? They could smell it from their class room and be eager enough to ditch school and sniff it out? Like animals on the hunt. They wanted to eat us. Aidou wanted to **eat **_Yuuki_.

Yuuki's staff dropped to the ground with a malignant clatter. "Senpai, stop it!! A-Aidou-senpai!!"

I wanted to help. She needed help. She had been trying to help me. She was struggling and hysterical. She was getting eaten alive. By Aidou. A Night Class student. A vampire. I wanted to help...

But I couldn't. I was too confused. Too afraid. They were _vampires_. They shouldn't exist. They would kill me. All of them - the entire Night Class.

Even Takuma...

"I still want more..." Hanabusa sighed, detaching his elongated tooth from Yuuki's skin. Wanted more? He wanted more blood. Because he was a vampire. He wanted more blood. More human blood.

He took advantage of Yuuki's proximity, pulling her into his chest as he tugged at her blouse collar. "May I drink from your neck?"

Yes, of course. Because he was a vampire. When they killed people -drained them dry of every ounce of blood- they took it from their neck. Just like all of the stories said. All of the fictional stories.

"N-n-n-no!! You c-can't!! I won't let you!"

He was going to kill her. Eat her. Drink all of her blood. And then what? Would I just stand here and wait to see if he wanted anymore? Be the desert dish? Watch as he ate Yuuki and pray that I wasn't next?

**Click**

I recoiled instantly, sputtering on a scream. A chain flashed ominously between Aidou and Yuuki, the two instantly spread apart by the time the metal links slashed through the space they had just been. The chain came from a young man holding a handgun, the barrel pointed towards the offending vampire.

Vampire. Was this man a vampire, too? He had silvery hair, like the moon. Cold, amethist eyes. He was handsome. He looked hostile. I could believe it.

"Drinking blood within school grounds is strictly prohibited. Getting drunk at the scent of blood and showing your true self, vampire..."

There they go, talking about blood again! Was that all these vampires cared about? Blood, lust, feeding?

"Zero, don't!"

Zero. I knew that name. Zero. He was the other prefect, wasn't he? The one who had ditched Yuuki the other night at patrolling duties. Yeah, that was it. This boy was Zero, the other prefect. The bigger, stronger, meaner looking of the two. He wasn't a vampire - he was wearing a Day Class uniform and holding a gun _towards_ the vampire! I was saved. We were saved.

Aidou didn't seem fazed. "But it was just a taste," he smirked, tongue flicking across his bottom lip teasingly. With my new-found hero standing guard, the earth suddenly came back into sharper focus. I could think clearer, mind calmer. I wasn't fooled by Hanabusa's lie and wasn't shuddering at his sly, falsely innocent tone. Zero -this freshman boy I had never met before in my life- would take care of it. He would protect me, I was sure.

And he did. He pulled the trigger.

I flinched, cowering back even farther and not holding back a shout of terror. I didn't like vampires, sure - that much was obvious. But they looked just like humans. I didn't want to see one get shot right before my eyes! Was it murder? Could killing the supposed 'undead' be murder? Did they count as a life? Were they registered in the government as an authentic being?

"Idiot! Why'd you shoot! Th..that was SCARY!!"

I almost laughed from the sheer lack of humor; it wasn't amusing at all, but hilariously so. Aidou straightened from his ducked position, face wide and traumatized. Kain looked up into a nearby tree, a shining star marking what I could only guess was the remains of an extreme vampire-busting bullet.

"Would you lower your Bloody Rose, please? It's very dangerous to us."

That voice was new. Suave, nonchalant, and coming from a white-suited man. A Night Class student.

A vampire.

Kaname walked into the vicinity, weaving between Aidou and Kain and looking towards the prefects monotonously. He halted with a hand to Aidou's shoulder, his standing clear as he faced Zero and Yuuki. Black versus white. Night versus day. Vampire versus human.

Us versus them.

"I'll take care of these fools," the President announced lightly, no vocal hint of malice in his tone. "The Chairman will be waiting on a report from this."

Aidou didn't seem all too relieved at the airy handling of his adviser. "Dorm-head Kuran..."

Kaname disregarded him, eyes narrowing towards the other (human) male challengingly. "Is that okay, Kiryuu-kun?"

What? What did I miss? Why was he asking Zero? Were they rivals? That attitude made it clear enough. Over what?

Zero barely reacted, sliding his gun back into his pocket casually. A seventeen-year-old boy casual putting a gun into his pocket after nearly slaying a hungry vampire. "Take them with you, Kuran-senpai."

There was only a fraction of a moment that passed before Kaname moved his attention elsewhere. "Kain."

The boy in question jolted. Was he really a boy? Was 'man' more suitable? If any of the other stories were true, vampires could live forever. He could be hundred of years old, trapped in his mid-teen body.

"Why didn't you stop Aidou? You're responsible for this, too."

I got the impression that Kaname was far more than a mere Dorm-head among the coven of... vampires. The domination in his command and the effect it pulled from his fellows was too great for such a simple title.

"Well then..."

I wondered why he didn't even find the need to have Kain answer his inquiry. I almost wanted to hear it. Why hadn't he stopped his brethren from eating a few girls and just looked on from the background? Was he simply hoping to devour scraps and refrain from being labeled as the killer?

"As for those two girls, we'll erase their memories of tonight and take them to the Chairman."

Two girls? Why weren't Zuri and Madoka speaking up for themselves? I snapped my head towards them, having to search for an eternal second before I looked down to find them out cold on the forest floor. I couldn't decide whether it was a good or bad thing that they hadn't witnessed every one of the latest happenings. How long had they been out, exactly? They were the ones who had led me to figure out the identity of the Night Class - they still weren't safe with that knowledge. It must have been why Kaname had ordered their recollection of the night to be modified.

Kaname...

Just as quickly as they had left him, my eyes sallied back to Kaname's stoic form. It sent a tremor of anxiety through my overworked heart when I caught his gaze.

Damn, this was real. He was a vampire. I was staring down a _vampire_. Could he hear my lungs nearly bursting? Was the blood surging through my veins at rapid speeds some sort of lullaby to him? I needed to vomit - the stress was too much. I could feel my intestines churning. My breathing was loud and unsteady, every inch of skin twitching and trembling - was that a sign of an easy catch; weak prey? Was **he** hungry, too?

"Oh, senpai!"

I coughed. Well, more of a reversed cough; a violent gasp. I blinked, wrenching my eyes away from Kaname's hypnotizing trap and clumsily catching Yuuki's awe. She and he fellow guardian watched me with angst, no doubt only just noticing that I wasn't in the same state as my class mates. I was very much conscious, a witness to everything that had just happened between us and these... animals.

Yuuki bit her lip, turning nervously to the vampire's leader. "Kaname-senpai, what about her? She's still awake after all of this! What should we do?"

Why were they discussing me like I wasn't even here at all? I may be incapable of movement or speech, but they shouldn't just ignore my existence like this! My humanity. It was a disgrace. Asking about me to that monster? Leaving my fate in his hands? What made him so worthy of the choice? What was his standing that justified the rivaling authority of the Chairman himself?

Kaname's eyes didn't relent, drilling a hole into my skull even as I refused to meet his stare. My fists clenched, nerve returning after most of the drama had passed. Somehow, I knew that the death factor was over now - I had escaped any peril. Still, there was no room to be brash. They were uncontrollable and untrustworthy. Even if I had no power against them to stop any attack, I couldn't just look at all of this blindly. Aidou had almost killed someone. Had it not been for Zero, and later Kaname, how much blood would have been spilled? Would it have attracted even more of them - the vampires? Would I have escaped with all of my bodily fluids intact?

"Take her to the Chairman. He can decide what to do with her," came Kaname's decision. I quivered, peering at him from the corners of my eyes. That was it? He was sparing me and passing me on the the Headmaster? Was I not good enough to be taken care of by him, personally? Just a default survivor?

His gaze took to the trees, intent clear as he called, "Seiren."

The girl was there in a flash, hovering over Zuri and Madoka as a ball of purple energy formed in her hand. Why wasn't I offering some type of protest? Why was I alright with they fact that they were performing some kind of vampire voodoo on my friends? Did I honestly believe that they wouldn't be hurt? Why didn't I fret over the fact that I was leaving my two classmates in their grasp?

All thoughts of clueless human girls forgotten, Kaname once again found interest in Yuuki. "I'm sorry if this brought up any... bad memories." As always, his eyes seemed to soften as they settled on the girl. Rather than swoon and think of Takuma, I found the trait almost unnerving.

Takuma... I hadn't put much thought into it. Takuma was a Night Class student. Takuma was a vampire. If I was in love with Takuma, I was in love with a vampire. An animal. A monster...

"No, it's fine!" Yuuki assured. "He hardly did anything."

Would my feelings for Takuma change? I would definitely have to do some serious thinking, weight the pros and cons. At the moment, the pro list was on the empty scale. He could eat me like Aidou had attempted to do with Yuuki. He could be unable to hold himself back and drink me dry. Would I take the risk and accept him for he he was? Would it make any difference at all? More importantly...

...Did he even know my name? Would he realize the girl that sustained his life was in love with him at all? Would I be just another nameless meal for him?

"We're going."

"Chotto, Zero! What is it?!"

A vice-like grip caught my wrist, tugging me behind the translucent hair of Zero. Yuuki stalked at my side, her hand caught up in the boy's other set of fingers. I teetered along with them, ignorant to whatever conversation they held, in the mindset of a zombie. I was about as aware and helpful as a slug.

I was going to face the Chairman about the school's little vampire problem. I had uncovered the big secret - it was all out in the open now. So, why wasn't I happy? Why did I feel like I was about to descend down the scale of life and never overcome this to go back to my same way of living?

The Enrai Eden I had always known was over. I was about to face a crossroad that I could never turn away from.

* * *

**(A/N) For reference, this was previously posted under a different name as a Takuma/OC/Zero story... for about two days before feedback caused me to rethink it and tweek a few things to make it into what it is now :] Takuma all the way! But don't fret, Zero fans - I'll be starting a new story for him soon enough ;D**

**I'm sorry for being annoying and throwing these questions out all at once (it's a major pet peeve of mine when people ask silly questions they could just look up themselves, but I honestly couldn't figure this out, I swear!) but it would be great if someone could explain more about the vampire levels to me. I'm not a total loser, I know the basics, but what happens if a noble were to bite a human? Do they turn to a level E or is it the same effect as a level E biting a human? When Zero drinks Kaname's blood, does that only control his cravings or is he not a level E anymore? But if it had been Shizuka's blood he got, what would have happened? Was Ichiru actually a vampire?**

**Again, I feel bad acting so clueless and asking all this stuff, but this will be the last time, I promise you! I don't have the time or patience, sadly, to get caught up reading/watching the entire series at the moment, but I'd like to figure all of this out now to plan the plot then wait and have facts clash :[ And just for the record, I made the names of those two girls up. I'm fairly certian they're never named and I won't use them too much after this, so I didn't see the harm :] **

**I hope my train of thought wasn't hard to follow. I hate doing these psychological chapters because I always think I'm just insane and no one else will be able to keep up with me .**

**The feedback from the last chapter was seriously amazing considering it was the debut, so I'd love it if you guys could continue that (even though this chapter was such a long wait and more of a Takuma-less filler.) Updates shouldn't take so long anymore, but the Drama Festival coming up will definitely take up a lot of my time. Sorry :[ Just hang in there with me, please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Vale of Avalon**

Chapter Three

* * *

The Chairman seated across from me was an exact replica of the man who had been denying my offer to join the Disciplinary Committee only twenty-four hours ago, down to the very last forlorn shadow aging his face by ten years.

That's right: twenty-four hours. It was only twenty-four hours ago that I had first been hit with the brilliant realization that there was something suspicious going on on the grounds of Kurosu Academy. Twenty-four hours ago was when I had come up with the resolve to find out what that mystery was and ignore the warnings to stay away. Twenty-four hours since I had been living without a shadow of debauchery crushing down on my shoulders, compressing my ribcage with a throttling force that bashed the breath from my lungs.

Within twenty-four hours, my life had been turned into some sort of horror movie: complete with mythical beasts out for my very flesh.

Kurosu Kaien sighed, a groaning edge to his tone as he slumped in his seat, fingers pressing the space above his brow to fight off an offending ache. I had to figure this was a particularly stressful conundrum for him to be caught up in; He would have probably rather me be in a situation where drugs or alcohol were involved on his campus.

Were drugs involved? Was blood (even in my mind, the word was hard to swallow, as if it was a mouthful of some type of poison itself) some form of drug to those Night Class students? An addictive substance that they would go so far as to kill for?

Was blood the heroin of a vampire?

But blood was food. Why would food cause such an extreme reaction? Sure, I loved chocolate almost more than anything in the world, but I would never resort to lethal measures to obtain it. What was it about those vampires that made them lose their minds over a meal? Were all animals so brutal? A wolf on the hunt would, of course, tear a deer limb from limb - but did their eyes turn that horrible, demonic shade of scarlet and their brains lose any thought that didn't focus directly on the gush of flesh between their jaws?

Was I thinking too much about all of this too soon? Too casually? Why was I wondering about it, anyway? It was none of my business to debate. They were evil, those night-crawling leaches. Fantastic predators that had no reason to be among humans and wearing their skin. I didn't have to think about it - they were the enemy. They were bad. It was understood at a seconds notice. Instinct.

They were vampires. Did I even need to **try **and defend them at all? There was no such thing as a gentle man-eater. They were all beasts with no distinguishing individuality among them. They may have looked different on the outside, but their actions were all controlled by the same internal function that desired blood above all else. They could act all they wanted, but their eyes would all turn a burning red to match their much-needed meal.

My joints locked. Every mouthful of air I managed to gulp down brought up another quivering breath at an unhealthily rapid rate. My senses were acute, painstakingly aware of my every gasp, chalked-white feature, and trembling membrane of skin.

They couldn't be trusted. What was the Chairman thinking letting them intermingle with humans? Was he just running some stupid little experiment? _'What Happens When You Put a Snake in a Mouse Cage_?' Did he _not care _about the risks?! Look what had almost happened tonight! How many times had it happened before?! Did he just move on with a brief period of regret before simply 'modifying' the human's memories and giving this another shot?! Had my mind already been altered in sich a way? How many times had I found out this secret through a series of unfortunate meetings that had afterwards been 'removed?'

I wasn't some computer document, damn it! People can't be forced into files and be reset to start from the beginning if things didn't turn out the right way!

Chairman Kurosu lifted his head, golden eyes staring unblinkingly at a point just beyond my shoulder, lackluster and unfocused.

"Eden-san, we must discuss -"

_**"Who the hell do you think you are?!"**_

The initial jolts of angst sparking against my nerves was gone, my body now left numb. I wasn't sure if I was still trembling or stricken: there was no feeling. What was once a terrifying whirl of passionate wails was now an epoch of silence. There was no more naive school girl playing around. I understood it all perfectly.

"_Do you even realize what you doing_?"

That voice didn't belong to me; it wasn't that same innocent, care-free me. It was cold, sharp and in control: foreign. I felt my jaw forming the words before my brain was able to process them. It was the hearts possession of the mind.

"This is twisted," my conscious spoke aloud. "Like some _Battle Royale_. Are you waiting for all of us to get picked off?" [1]

Did he gain something once the creatures had their fill? Was his saving his own life by sacrificing all of us children?

"That," the Chairman whipped briskly. "...is exactly what I'm trying to avoid."

I didn't believe him. "You've got an ironic way of showing it."

Kurosu sighed. It was apparent that things weren't working out as smoothly as he had hoped; both my involvement and reaction had made a bad situation disastrous. Had it been just a day before I might have felt guilty about being the source of his stress. Here and now, my sympathy was at an all time low.

The Chairman's resolved seemed to drift away in minuscule pieces right in front me. He was breaking down steadily and desperate for a release. "Please, let me explain, Enrai-san."

I would grant him that much - I wanted answers.

He took my silence for the compliance that it was and began his narration, weary and to the point.

"The first thing that you must understand is that tonight's incident was a grave accident on all of our parts. The after-dark curfew was put into effect to prevent this very situation from happening. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the Night Class had rules of their own that they, too, chose to disregard."

Damn straight the Night Class deserved some of the blame. Most of it - nearly all. Sneaking out and murdering were two completely different crimes on opposite ends of the spectrum. Why was he comparing them like they were somehow balanced?

"But my place isn't in punishing them," the Chairman's hawk-like gaze flashed before me. "I only have the power to deal with _you_."

So, what, that golem Aido would skip off to sink his fangs into another defenceless and uninformed young girl while I was reprimanded for not being in bed? It was my fault for getting in _his_ way?

"But I wouldn't worry about the others coming out unscathed; Kuran-san's castigation will be much worse than anything I would do."

So Kaname _was_ the ring leader. And he was abusive. How morbidly fitting.

Chairman Kurosu let a moment pass for what little information he had told me to sink in. I made it clear with a stubborn scowl that I was impatient for him to get on with it and not be so suspenseful. His frown deepened.

"You might have been wondering why Kuran Kaname is obviously of an abnormally high esteem with the others, and the answer is simple: he is a pure-blood, the upper most level of vampire. The rest of the Night Class population look up to him as their superior and are obligated to both respect and obey him. While he may not be able to entirely influence the Noble's actions - or, rather, he chooses not to enforce that type of control a majority of the time - his command is still law among the lesser vampires."

He said it. There it was, admitted straight from the Chairman's mouth. _Vampires_. They were all **vampires**. I had known it all along - I know I knew it. So why did it coming from this bespectacled man's mouth send a wooden stake through my heart?

"Eden," Kurosu began boldly. His tone had lost the solemn coolness that had been webbed in hitherto, now both genuinely pleading and passionate. It was only than that I realized that there was a dull chill on my cheeks, a product of the slim rivulets making their way towards my chin. "This school is not trying to create an unstable environment for any vain reason - we're attempting to prove that humans and vampires _can_ live together peacefully."

I stooped, hastily swiping my knuckles under my eyes to get rid of any remaining tears. All of the hostility had left me by now: the only thing I needed was someone to be honest with me before I could go back to my state of reason. Now was the time of me to have my collapse. Everything was bursting out into the open and ricocheting around too fast for me to grasp.

I attempted to wrap my senses around the truth I had just heard. As hard as I tried, I just couldn't get things to click. I shook my head, pulling a mighty sniff in through my nose and lifting my head. A new batch of tears sprung up before I could even part my lips. "I-I don't get it! You say you're tr-trying to get some symbiotic relationship going on, but it's impossible! Look what just happened! Does that seem peaceful to you?!"

I hated to throw all the evidence out in the open like that, but Kurosu Kaien was clearly not as brilliant as I had thought him to be. There was no way -_no way_- that people and mutated behemoths could live together in such a way benignly. Maybe the Chairman just needed some reality shoved into his face before he saw the error of his ambitions.

"Besides," my voice cracked, physical and emotional strain taking it's toll. "...how can you expect for us to live with those...the..." I struggled with a suitable adjective, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated if I used the first insult that came to mind, "...the Night Class if none of us even know what they really are? It will only work out if their condition stays a secret - no one will ever come here if they knew the truth! What is it proving?"

"It's proving that what they are doesn't matter," was the instantaneous rebuttal. "If you kids can all get along fine without knowing the secret identity behind the vampires-" I flinched, not being able to take that word being spoken so openly, "- then their particular breed doesn't make a difference at all. If there is no hostility now, why would admitting their race make any difference? They are the same people whether the other students know they are vampires or not."

No. It didn't work. I almost hated myself for it, but I just couldn't let it be that easy. It simply wasn't natural. It wouldn't work. The entire thing was crazy and destined to end in tragedy and death. Blood, even. Did he think all of the other **normal **students -not to mention their parents!- would take this any differently then I was now? That they would accept it any easier? He truly was out of his mind.

"I saw them..." the tone was meek, but the sting on my vocal chords made it obvious that I was thinking orally. "I saw the way they reacted when Yuuki scraped her hand. There was barely even a wound, but... but they still came. He said he _smelled _it, that it was delicious..." I mustered up any dregs of courage that were still hanging on to lift my eyes to that piercing gold. "What if it happens again? What if someones not there to stop it? If they smell more blood, what if they can't hold back? It's the basic, primitive urge of the wild - you can never completely tame... _animals_."

It was insensitive, I knew, and maybe only a little bit out of place for me to say, as someone whom had only known about the existence of the mythical humanoids for an hour at most, but it was what I felt; what I thought was right. I couldn't just keep it introverted - this was too important. Peoples' lives were at stake. It would be wrong if I didn't speak up. I had never particularly wanted to play the hero, but I didn't think I was in any position to pass on the responsibility. If someone else were to stand up, they would have to bare witness to everything I has seen; they would have to go through it all themselves. I may not have been the most morally-driven person in the world, but I was resolute enough not to let that happen.

Time passed in the measurement of eons. Everything was still and silent, almost seeming dead.

"I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way, Enrai-san."

My lungs stiffened, nerves frozen. An arctic sweat dribbled down my spine, because the Chairman's lips hadn't moved. It wasn't his voice, anyway. It was too silken. Too growling.

Too Godly. Too Satanic.

Too inhuman.

I knew I couldn't turn around - I wouldn't allow myself to. It would only confirm everything that the Chairman and I had been debating. I couldn't face a vampire, not after what had just happened. Not even the 'pureblood'. I had no reason to worship him. I had all the reason to _fear_ him.

"Chairman," the nocturnal Dorm Leader addressed. By Kaname's tone, it seemed almost as if he thought himself above even Kurosu's authority and was merely humoring the school's founder. "Have you decided what to do with this girl? I would assume the solution is obvious."

What I had previously thought of as intelligent and faze less (brave, even) characteristics had turned into arrogance and hubris at a lethal level. Kaname wasn't so much as a sternly responisble senior in my eyes, but a young monster looking to conquer by whatever persuasive means possible.

"I have dealt with both Aidou and Kain. I brought Ichijou here with me to see how you were handling this one."

I swear I could have swallowed a rock whole and not felt such a heavy drop in my gut. No, I didn't care about Aidou and Kain being dealt with, nor about what exactly Kaname planned for me with his visit - not at all. It was the third name he had spoken, the one who was reportedly standing behind me at his master's side.

The need of confirmation was enough for my heels to pivot on their own, my hand darting up to my eye lashes to sweep the curtain of onyx tresses away.

He was still beautiful, even though I knew who he really was. Kaname, only seen from the very corner of my peripheral vision as I forced myself to ignore him out of spite, was simply terrifying. But not Takuma, **my **Takuma. I might have watched as his canines elongated and eyes catch fire and still thought he was deathly handsome. Maybe I wouldn't even care if he dove towards me and stabbed into my neck, so long as it was him. In my dreams, I would have died happily in his arms knowing that I had given him a bit of pleasure and comfort on my way out of this world.

But that was just it - that was the plot of my dreams, not this world. This world shouldn't have any vampires. I shouldn't have to deal with vampires. It wasn't fair! My me? Why was it me who had to go through all of this? Why did I have to come to Kurosu Academy at all? Why did I have to meet Takuma? Why did I have to fall in love with a man who would only turn out to be the ultimate death of me in the end? Why did it have to be Takuma? Why did I have to have ever met him? Why did he have to be the one I noticed? Why did _he_ have to be a vampire?

Because as long as he was a vampire, I knew I could never love him in the way that I hoped. I had wanted it, more than anything, to love him and have him love me, too: but this wouldn't work. Not any more. He wasn't the man I thought he was.

Hell, I wasn't sure if he was even considered a man. He was wolf in sheep's clothing. I guess it was a good thing I had never let our relationship grow to that level at all, as the way things turned out made any development between us impossible. I needed to throw all of my previous feelings for him away and forget that I ever had them. I had to forget him.

I _wanted _to forget him. I wanted to forget the him that I loved. No - I wanted to forget the him that I **didn't **love. I wanted to go back to when things were simple and easy: normal. When he was just one of the mysterious and beauteous Night Class boys I watched at sunset. When I could fantasize about him without the inevitable scarlet gaze and devouring intent. I wanted him to be human again, if only in my mind. I wanted to believe he was a human. I didn't want to know he wasn't. I wanted a chance at _us; _for us to be an us.

I wanted my Takuma back, not this poser. Because my Takuma wasn't a monster; my Takuma could never make me feel fear.

But even this Takuma wasn't doing that. Making me afraid, I mean. As much as I knew I should (and as much as Kaname and all of the others of his cult did) I just couldn't find him striking even a bit of anxiety in me. I couldn't see him hunting down another living person and sinking his teeth into their bloodstream. It was incomprehensible. Takuma wouldn't do that. Takuma was an angel.

Or maybe that was my Takuma, the one that _wasn't_ a vampire.

My Takuma, the nice human boy I so selfishly called mine when we had spoken only once. The nice human boy who didn't even know my name but I knew that I loved. The nice human boy who was capable of loving me back one day.

Not the vampire who could put on my Takuma's face so well. This Takuma, the vampire Takuma, didn't have a heart to love with. He felt no compassion, he just showed it on his face for the poor human girls' sympathy. He only felt hunger.

"Eden-san's put me in a difficult position," the Chairman announced clearly. I jumped, blinking back into the present. I had forgotten I was in this room -his office- at all. I was so caught up in day dreaming. It was only then when I realized, with a electrifying jolt of nausea, that I had been staring in the vampire Takuma's molten green orbs for all of that time. They reminded me so much of my Takuma's that it was almost calming. This Takuma displayed that sense of positivity and comfort so well, and he even managed to morph in twinges of sorrow and worry. The resemblance was uncanny.

"I admit," Kurosu continued. I hurried to snap back around to face him, forcing my gaze to tear from the vampire Takuma's. "...that I initially had plans to allow Enrai-san to keep all of her recollection of the past few hours and serve as one of the student outside of our Disciplinary Committee to know of your circumstances; she herself brought up the point of our plan of peace only being able to succeed if the truth was known..."

So that was what he was up to? He wanted me to see things his way so I could be part of the plan? Part of the experiment? A dependent variable?

The Chairman lowered his head, but his eyes remained trained on my own. I was so focused in the great amount of unadulterated disappointment in his soul that I almost felt horrible for being the source of it. But no, I wouldn't allow it: I was right. He was the one who was wrong. "But, as you can probably tell, the chances of her cooperation seems extremely bleak. It would probably be better off for all of us if one of you were simply to modify her memory and we could all go back to our regular lives."

It was the most reasonable thing he had said all night. I agreed. Go back to my life as an ignorant fool in love who was more happy not knowing the details of her Romeo's life than learning his deepest secret.

I could feel Kaname's stare, even when it wasn't directed towards me. I had to give Chairman Kurosu a huge amount of credit for not flinching in the least and holding the senior's glare strongly for that endless moment.

"Very well," was the pureblod's eventual, and almost grudging, verdict. Perhaps he had been looking forward to using me as a tool as well. "I'll do it now."

"No!"

The Chairman's eyes had snapped back to me. It was only then when I had realized the yell of protest was mine. Why had I done it? I wasn't sure. And why was I crying? Not just crying - sobbing. The room swirled with liquid, every detail blurred and fogged as if hovering below the surface of water. I coughed, sputtering on my breath and trying to keep my lip from quivering. It was a moot attempt and I knew all of the energy I was putting into forcing the tears away only made then come twice as fast, leaving my eyes bloodshot and cheeks rosy. I knew I wasn't a pretty crier - not like those cute girls in the movies. I cried like a four-year-old brat; And I was acting like one, too. Face sticky with salted tears, nose filling with mucus and a small trail of snot running down towards my chin: but I didn't care. I couldn't. Not at a time like this. My appearance was the last thing on my mind. I could only stand there, wiping my upper lip with my sleeve and paying no heed to how disgusting it was. Why?

Because I didn't want it to be Kaname. I didn't want to have his stoic and -let's just say it- _scary _face to be the one looming over me as he wiped out my mind with his freakish powers of the undead. I used to think he was handsome: now he was just creepy. Like a statue, or a surrealism piece of art made to show the dark side of man: the savage side. I could see those irredescent red eyes so vividly on his face that the brown wouldn't even exist. The crimson fit too well. He was just a demon. The human part of him I used to see could no longer exist when I still remembered that there was _no_ human part of him. I couldn't be near him; it was too terrifying. I couldn't let him touch me. I couldn't let him be the one to do it.

"Takuma," I gasped, not even registering that I had just addressed him so intimately in the open. No 'sama', no 'san': just Takuma. Like I had always wished I could call him, especially in front of others. Like we were close. "Please..."

And that was my epiphany. Takuma. It was him that I wanted. It was him who needed to be the one to make all of this agonizing confusion go away. Takuma would make everything better. He would be the one to keep me relaxed while he made me forget this nightmare. I would look into his face, think of how at some distant time I though that he was just like me. He could pose as the normal, civilized, human Takuma until that reality came back. I would imagine he was the Takuma I had known for the past three years and this version of him with pointed teeth would bring _that_Takuma back to me because he was some form of that very same, very different Takuma. It was a jumbled and nonsensical belief, but it just seemed so clear to me at the time. This vampire Takuma was nothing more than the evil shadow of my Takuma, the evil shadow who would bring the good side of himself back into the light. Everything would be okay then...

Rather than summoning everything in me and facing up to the others, I went on like this was all just a bad dream. I would do and not think, because none of this was real. I would just wake up tomorrow and not remember a thing. I wouldn't have to notice any details or emotions, because none of this would exist. It might as well _not _exist. In a few hours, all of this would be... nothing. It would have never happened. It was insignificant. Just an alternate dimension of occurrences. This wasn't my life.

"Ichijou, do it."

"But Kaname-sama, I-"

"Ichijou."

"...Hai, Kaname-sama."

I was staring at the floor. Expressionless. Unseeing. Until the shiver of cool skin ran along the underside of my chin, tilting my face upwards. My eyes took in the searing green of anothers. Just like Takuma's, but not. Because Takuma didn't dwell in the hellish plane: he was back home, safely tucked away in his classes with the rest of those curious Night students, his heart beating and blood flowing. This Takuma wasn't real. He was an imprint of the other. Not corporal. Just a fraudulent form.

"I'm sorry..."

I didn't know why he would be sorry, or why he felt the need to whisper it to me like that. It was apparent that he didn't want anyone else to hear. Why would he be sorry? Why would he be able to understand the feeling of sorrow? Why would he _look _so miserable? He wasn't a valid person. He wasn't Takuma. He was a stranger.

But either way, I was glad that those wide, emerald, rueful eyes of his were the things I was falling into as the world turned black all around me.

* * *

"Hey, dork, you're not dying or anything, are you? If you are just tell me so I can the janitors in here to haul your carcass out and invite one of my friends to move in."

My roommate had never been the nicest of people, but even that one was a little harsh. My face screwed together in some questionable mix of emotions - exhaustion, bewilderment, and a slight aching pain. I blinked heavily, rolling my self upright and letting the covers fall into a pool in my lap. I yawned, stretching out a kink in my shoulder as a surveyed the room dully. Usually by the time I woke up in the morning, Eira (the girl I shared this dorm with) had already applied her face, perfected his hair and clothing and sprinted out of the door like I was some kind of contagious disease she could catch if she stayed around me for too long. It was odd that we would be within ten feet of each other for more than a few minutes, excluding the time when we were unconscious in sleep. Speaking was reserved for special occasions only. It was one of the reasons my head was whirling so much - why was she here? And I could swear she had just walked _into_ the room from the way I had heard a door slam before her voice forced me away from my slumber...

I squinted around blearily, trying to make sense of all of this. Even for me, who wasn't exactly what people would call a 'morning person', today just seemed like one of those days when thinking was impossible. I couldn't wrap my mind around anything tangible, much less try to do any detective work this early. That being figured, I merely released a lazy grunt and allowed myself to fall back into the comfort of my pillow. Eira's snort of revulsion was quick to follow.

"Jeez, you're so barbaric sometimes. First you spend the entire day rolling around in your sheets and now, after sleeping for, like, almost twenty-four hours, your _still _won't get out of bed? You better not have some kind of weird sickness and get me infected; Trust me, I've already been to the Chairman about getting you out of here, but he just insisted that you were fine and excused from classes today. I swear, if I wake up covered in boils or something..."

She was cut off there as I snapped upright, nose pressed against the window. The sun was low on the horizon, the sky made of brilliant fiery and midnight hues. The first thought that seemed plausible was that it was sunrise. But no, that didn't work with what Eira had been droning on about. Plus, sunrise and sunset were visual opposites - this was a clear view of the sun going to rest and introducing the night, not the other way around. The light was leaving and the dark coming.

What the hell had happened to the entire **day**?!

"Ergh," the blonde European-Japanese hybrid grumbled, looking down on me in disdain. I had long ago learned to ignore her snootiness. Eira was your stereotypical exotic girl from hell: that flaxen mane and navy blue eyes made her a god among insects, according to her; almost as if she belonged in the coveted Night Class of beauties. The multi-racial factor was unique and, therefore, better. "Why did I have to get roomed with such a spaz? Seriously, maybe I'll just have Daddy write to the Chairman since being in this kind of environment is obviously effecting both of our healths-"

"What time is it?!" I urged, my tone on the cutting edge of desperation. I needed to know! If it was sundown, it might have meant that I had missed the Night Class's passing. I might have missed Takuma! What if he thought I was avoiding him after our fateful conversation yesterday? When we had spoken for the first time - he had asked if I was alright. I couldn't just desert him now, at a time like this! We were just getting closer - our relationship had just set sail and began developing!

I didn't even wait for Eira's answer, but bolted straight out of bed and towards the mirror. Curiously, I was still dressed in my school uniform: I must have fallen asleep without remembering to change. Besides the slight musty smell of wearing the same cloths for two days straight, my appearance wasn't something horrendous. My hair, as boring a black as ever, was pulled back into a casual ponytail and out of the way: presentable. There was no major breakouts on my skin that I needed to rush to cover-up: I could manage without any make-up for the moment. And lastly, my eyes, the muddled swamp of a grayish-green: well, there was nothing I could do to help them anyway. They weren't ugly, per say; not at all. It was just that compared to the brilliance of Takuma's own shaded orbs, the clouded mist of my own reminded me more of a wolf's or cat's eyes than a humans. Overall, considering my press for time, there was nothing drastic that commanded my attention.

I was dashing out of the door and down the hall within the next second.

As I raced towards the gates, I could only think of how my fresh-out-of-bed looks shouldn't really matter. At least, not to Takuma, if he was as dear to me as I hoped. It shouldn't matter what I looked like or what kind of mood or condition I was in: I was still me. It was the basic rule of companionship. What's on the inside is the important thing; what kind of person you are. If Takuma couldn't accept that I wasn't the visual perfection that he was at every time of the day, then maybe he wasn't worth my time after all. If he couldn't accept me for who I was, I was better off without him.

If we couldn't be selfless and understanding with each other, then we were never meant to work out as lovers in the first place.

* * *

**(A/N) I feel SO incredibly guilty about leaving you guys hanging while I was so caught up in the Drama Festival, but rest assured that there are no more plays until next school year (unless I do something for a different theatre during the summer... but I doubt it xD) and I can now go back to my pathetic life of living in my pajamas and spending twelve hours a day on the computer :D**

**As promised, I'm not bothering you guys with anymore questions, but please feel free to point out if I did something wrong or you think I'm heading in a direction that doesn't make sense. It might be just because I wrote this and re-read it about twenty times, but I'm really not sure if you guys were able to follow Eden's thought process. Add on the fact that I wrote the first half of this three months ago and the rest in the past week, and **_**I'm**_** not even sure if I understood what I was doing! I know it hasn't seemed like it lately, but all of your feedback and support really gives me the drive to get these chapters out more often! Thank you everyone who reviews/favorites/watches, and a super-special thanks to everyone who was nice enough to fill me in on the things I wasn't sure about in the last chapters.**

**I could have put a lot more into this and revised more, but I just really wanted to get it out ASAP! I hope it wasn't too bad xD**

**[1] I know most of you understand the definition of battle royal, but I was thinking more specifically of the graphic novel/manga (and now it's a live-action movie, but let's not talk about that) that follows a class of teens who are kidnapped, taken to an island and forced to kill each other off for the sake of a popular television program. It's great 8D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Vale of Avalon**

Chapter Four

* * *

I should have expected this; I didn't know why I had let my hopes get up. It had only been wishful thinking, after all. There was no reason for me to fantasize about Takuma's reaction when I didn't know him well enough to predict anything. Things may have _seemed_ to be moving forward in a more intimate -or at the very least friendly- direction between us after our chat on the grounds, but it had only been him being polite. He hadn't felt a thing, which was obvious when I didn't earn so much as a glance from him at last night's ceremony of passage. I had been inadvertently ignored: in other words, rejected without the boy even knowing he was turning me down. It was just the simple fact that Takuma hadn't bothered to approach me that said everything. He didn't even care enough to send over a smile.

Then again, I couldn't recall him smiling at all the night before. In truth, that fact alone was more disturbing than the pointless plague hundreds of years ago that Kurogane-sensei was trying to distract me with in my morning history lesson. Who had ever heard of Ichijou Takuma not wearing a light, cheery grin? It was an uncharacteristic turn that had me biting my lip in anxiety. I didn't need to be on speaking terms with Takuma to know that something had to be wrong, if only a thing as simple as an off day. But what if it were more serious? I didn't know. I was concerned nonetheless, unrightfully so. Who was I to worry over Takuma? Who was I to ponder the causes of his mood and yearn to offer my comfort? I was no one: not to him. I didn't exist in Ichijou Takuma's world.

Witnessing his detached frown and dull eyes had sent me into a depression. It was as if Takuma's bizarre state had contorted my world into a morbid carnival Fun House - I could practically see the clowns' jeering faces in every mirror I came across. His melancholy mood was contagious.

I had knelled back to my room last night in the aftermath, shivering and brooding like I had at very few times in my life. What could have happened? What was it that had moved the mountain's of Takuma's spirit and turned that smile inside-out? I wanted to know. It had to have been important, something bigger than me; A thing that truly mattered on Takuma's plane.

Class had been drudging and full of annoyances, what with the plethora of falsely caring classmates asking about my health and poking their noses into my personal life. Was this how Takuma had felt about me? He had never found the will to bond with me because I had been perfunctorily dismissed as another adorning fly? I couldn't blame him. This was a horrible feeling, to be surrounded on all sides by people who didn't know the first thing about you and yet seemed to contest for your attention; If they had known me at all, they could tell that I hated being in the lime light. And all of this was just from a single sick day - I couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to be a member of the Night Class and face the crowds just walking to class _every single night_.

"Eden-chan, are you alright?" Zuri questioned later on over lunch. I blinked, snapping out of my reverie and looking up with a blank face. She tilted her head, eyes softening in concern. "You've been acting really strange ever since you got sick the other day. Are you not recovered yet? You should go to the nurse and be send back to your room to sleep it off some more."

I lowered my gaze again, raking my fork over the mound of mashed potatoes piled onto my tray. Honestly, I really should have taken her advice. I didn't know what was wrong with me - there was no way that Takuma's unhappiness could make me physically ill. There was something else happening, something I just couldn't put my finger on.

"I'm not sure," I settled quietly after a moment, wondering how much of my feelings I should put into details for the group. Eventually, it came down to just blurting out everything that was bothering me (minus Takuma) in a carefully constructed nutshell.

"I just have a weird feeling," I began slowly, already second guessing myself for confiding in the others. "…like something's wrong, maybe. I mean, it's hard to explain, but…"

I stopped. Would they think I was crazy if I said it? But I had to finish it now - I had admitted too much for them to accept my withdrawal. I just had to get it all out without any sensory.

"…I feel like I missed something; There's this blank space in my head that should be filled, but I don't know what's missing…"

Three expressionless faces stared back at me in response.

"Okay…" Madoka supplied. For that, I was grateful. The tensed silence had begun made me fear for my sanity.

At the same time, I couldn't help but sigh dejectedly and go back to my dissection of the meal. Of course they wouldn't understand: _I_ didn't even understand. There was no one to turn to in this situation - I had to work things out on my own.

"It's probably just one of your symptoms," Zuri tried to assure me, obviously taking notice to my crestfallen aura. "If I was asleep for almost two days, I'm sure I'd see some empty space when I looked back on all of the time I was unconscious…"

Mari, par usual, sat obediently without a word, nodding gently in agreement.

I pulled on a pathetic attempt of bravado, twisting my lips up with enough encouragement to get them to beam back before breaking off into their own chatter.

No - that wasn't the answer. It seemed like there was no solution to this. Or perhaps, if there was, it was just too far out of my species to reach. I would just have to suffer through it alone and it silence.

* * *

My mood had carried on past lessons and into the evening. Dinner went by without a word passed my way this time, none of the others wanting to comment on or disrupt my mute behavior. I didn't mind: I could continue brooding without interruption.

As it turned out, I couldn't even bring myself to journey over to the Night Class dorms and greet the nocturnal students. I just didn't feel right about doing it - something was holding me back, telling me to stay away. I had no idea where the notion came from, but I decided to follow my instincts this one time.

However, I quickly grew bored with the endless thinking. Why couldn't I just let the matter drop? What good was this pensive game of mental tennis doing me? There were possibilities as to the cause of my emotional damage, but only a few that kept repeating and revaluating themselves in my mind. Was it only Takuma? Was it simply a side-effect of my sickness? Why had I been sick again, anyway? I had felt fine as far as I could remember, apart from waking up after nearly twenty-four hours of slumber. Why had the Chairman himself excused my absence? Did he know something I didn't? Had my doctor called and said he had found some incurable disease working its way through my blood? Was the Chairman reluctant to tell me of this fatality and letting me live the rest of my life as normal as possible?

…This was getting ridiculous. I needed to take a walk and clear my head.

I completely disregarded the fact that it was nearing eleven o'clock at night. Normally, I was one to follow the rules and stick to regulations but there was no helping it this time. I was a woman on a mission to find (or forget) herself. Fueled with desperation, confusion, and hints of aggravation, there was no way that I could remain cooped up safely in that snug dorm room and wait it out until morning.

Eira breathed deeply enough for me to feel confident that she wouldn't be woken up by my departure. All the same, I tried to keep as quiet as possible while I pulled on my shoes and jacket and snuck out the door. The hall was eerily empty and dark, shadows from the branches basking in moonlight creating monstrous claws on the walls. I scurried through the building as quickly as possible to escape the chilling visions.

The air outside was cold, but warmer than you would usually expect from late winter weather. I was comforted by the nipping breeze, feeling the chills wash down my spine and take most of my worries with it. I took in a large breath and stepped out into the wilderness, jumping blindly into a forest of seclusion.

There was something nostalgic about tip-toeing my way through the trees and brush, testing each patch of land before me for roots or debris. It was almost terrifying, but at the moment I welcomed the thrill of night and its uncertainty. The darkness, rather than symbolizing some kind of hidden secrets or despair, became a blanket; Unlike most literary allegories of repression and evil, the secret of the shadows was something I wanted. It was out of my control - natural. A natural gloom that had begun to make my current troubles seem trifling and insignificant compared to this vast veil surrounding me at all sides.

Eventually my eyes were able to adjust to the absence of light, making out the dim shapes of the foliage around me. I was disappointed for a moment, but at least navigation would be easier this way. Not that it mattered all that much where I had no real destination in sight, but a clearer vision was something I knew should be comforting.

I wandered around aimlessly for what felt like (and what just might have been) hours, not coming across any familiar relicts. It was just tree after tree after tree - and then an occasion bush or two, always followed by another tree. I wondered if this forest could lead me straight out of the Academy's grounds. How far back had I traveled? Could I be in an entirely different country by now? Like the tale of Alice in Wonderland - that would be quite the adventure to stumble into. Fantastic characters and creatures I had only dreamed of. How exciting that would be! A wonderful distraction from my current state of dilemma.

Something was off about the area all of a sudden - there was a space to my left through numerous branches that seemed twice as bright as my current position. A clearing, maybe, that was less hidden from the moonlight. Feeling my stomach leap, I bound off in that direction without a cautious thought. As I got closer, the sound of running water teased my ears with its tinkling. But was it water, really? It could be any liquid in some unknown land. Chocolate perhaps, like you would find in Willy Wonka's factory. Or maybe it really was H2O, but tinted iridescent tones of orange or purple from fairy dust. I couldn't wait to see. Picking up my pace, I burst out from the woods in a run and froze as the open air seemed to hit me like a thousand critical stares.

…Well, this was anti-climatic. I hadn't even left the Kurosu Academy property at all. It was just a fountain - a normal, electricity powered water fountain. There were unnamed buildings of the school plotted down to the left of me, the cascading waterfalls resting between society and the wilderness as a buffer.

I sighed. So this was reality? I wanted to go back to my own illusion of a fool's paradise. At least things there were animated and exhilarating. Here on earth everything was so… dull and quiet.

But I settled with my fate, knowing that this place was the home that I belonged to. I began walking again, my steps now slow and unmotivated. Hopping onto the edge of the fountain, I lifted my arms out to the sides for balance as I tight-roped my way around the perimeter of the basin. There was a perfectly good stone seat right below me, of course, but I didn't want to fully accept that my imagination wasn't real just yet. I would live with this childlike innocence for a little longer.

Finding another student seated on the other side of the geyser, however, ruined the vision. There was no mistaking the white uniform of the blond male I had nearly stepped on.

"Ichijou-sama!"

In my surprise, I had stumbled on my footing. When standing on a ten-centimeter rim, that meant I would either fall onto the cement or into a small pond.

I squealed and anticipated a blow. Of course, it never did come.

Realizing that my descent was taking far to long, I peeled an eye open to see what the hold up was. Apparently I must have still been trapped in my dream world because Ichijou Takuma was standing before me, an arm wrapped around my waist for support. Prince Charming had saved me from 'death'.

Yes, I had to be moonstruck.

"Are you alright?" he questioned purely, lifting my form and placing me safely to the ground out of harms way. I blinked, trying to figure out whether or not I really was hallucinating.

"A-Aa…"

He felt authentic. He looked authentic and smelled authentic… He felt, looked, and smelled wonderful…

"I'm sorry I startled you," Takuma said gently, a demure smile gracing his lips. "I got so caught up with my reading that I didn't even hear you come at all."

His words wormed their way into my mind sluggishly.

"Reading?" I questioned dumbly, as if I had never heard of the activity before. Takuma nodded, suddenly seeing to grow a little shy.

"Hai. I like to read out here to calm down sometimes…"

"Calm down…?"

What was wrong with me? Couldn't I think of any words of my own to say rather than repeating his like a brainless automaton? I sounded like an idiot!

"Yes," Takuma said lightly, tone softening to the pitch of a confession. "Unfortunately I haven't been myself lately. There are a lot of things on my mind that I needed to get away from for a bit."

Seeming to jump thoughts in a slit second, the young man's expression suddenly tightened, eyes turning a shade deeper. "You should be sleeping. Day Class students aren't allowed outside after dark."

On the defense, I unintentionally countered, "You should be in class."

Takuma blinked and I prayed that split second would be all it took for him to miss my flush of horror. Had I really just said that right to his face? How rude!

"Ichijou-sama," I stammered in desperation. "Sumimasen! I didn't mean - "

"It's alright," he cut me off, raising a hand in assurance. "You have a point, after all. I shouldn't have reprimanded you when I'm here as a rebel as well."

Rebel was an adjective I would never consider appropriate for Takuma in a thousand years. I found the entire situation, he calling himself a rebel of all things, so amusing that I couldn't hold back from giggling. Embarrassed, I tried to stifle them behind a hand, but Takuma's own joining chuckles only encouraged the laughter. I was indescribably glad that he was brightening up - there was no longer that haze of gloom surrounding him. Could I take any credit or was it simply the time he spent with himself and a paperback?

"I'm serious, though," he grinned, eyes tender. "Its dangerous for you to be out of your dorm after dark."

Dangerous. The phrase wiped any traces of mirth from my face. Why did that sound so familiar? It was like déjà vu…

I brushed the thought away, smiling innocently. "I think I can handle myself. Besides, you're here to protect me now, ne?"

…Seriously? _Another _verbal blunder? I had to get a hold of myself, soon; If I wanted Takuma to stay around, he couldn't be thinking of me as a moronic, inarticulate **flirt**. A flirt: me? I didn't even think I knew how to properly flirt with the opposite sex without just mimicking those vain girls from the movies. I wouldn't be like one of them, like every one of Takuma's other female fans. I liked him for more than that. It wasn't only because he was so handsome. Regroup, Eden! Get your act together!

Takuma paused, clearly trying to figure what to make of this situation. Attempting to redeem myself, I pulled one side of my lip up a little farther, smirking teasingly instead. Yes, that was it: it had only been a joke. Get it, Takuma? I was acting like one of your stalkers for amusement purposes; I wasn't like them.

I could have collapsed to the ground in relief right then and there when he took the bait, his features regaining some of the lost spark.

"Forgive me," the young Ichijou spoke, adopting a more smooth and professionally genial way of speech, "but I don't think we've introduced ourselves: my name is Ichijou Takuma. It's nice to meet you, Miss. May I know your name?"

I stopped breathing for a moment, jaw agape. Of course. He wanted to know my name. _He didn't know who I was or that I had ever existed._

But he would after tonight.

The time spent frozen only lasted the length of a hair. I was quick to bounce back, hardly knowing where this sudden boldness was coming from. "I'm Enrai Eden. It's wonderful to formally meet you as well."

Why wasn't I stuttering? I had always fumbled and squeaked when I tried talking with boys I liked. Why was I so unusually calm? Confident? Collected? It didn't make sense. Something was wrong. Things were going too positively.

It had to be him - Takuma. He was just so ace that his presence could rub off on those around him and make even me appear agreeable. He truly was a miracle to the world.

The marvel himself tilted his head cordially. "That's a beautiful name," he complimented, much to my delight. "It's very unique."

I didn't know quiet how to respond to that (should I have thanked him, or would that have sounded too stuck-up?) so I went with a rebound option of biting my lip in an awkward thanks. His eyes shut with a cute smile.

"I would invite you to join me in my reading, since I tend to bring extra manga when I go out for long periods," he explained. I could have sworn I had swallowed a brick: was he asking me to stay with him? Like a date!? "…but I myself was just thinking of heading in, and I really think it would be best if you were to go back to your dorms as well."

The brick lodged in my intestine shattered. Tonight would not be the night that Takuma realized his fondness for me. But all hope wasn't lost - he had said he would have invited me otherwise, right? That meant he was willing to get to know me more and enjoyed my company. Maybe if we met again, at an earlier time, I could have the chance of bonding with him more.

"Of course," I agreed. "I should probably get some sleep anyway. Who knows what time it is…"

Takuma responded without even taking out a watch. "Oh, I'd say about 1:00 AM or so. You need to rest if you don't want to get sick."

I snorted secretly to myself. Yes, I had had enough of being sick. However, I don't think there was anyway I could manage to escape that situation now - I only had five more hours before I would normally wake up. And even with those five hours, I was positive that they would go without slumber, especially after this meeting. Takuma would cloud up so much of my mind that the Sandman himself would become lost and unable to deliver his package.

"Yes, I should go…"

If he was half the gentleman I believed he was, I was sure Takuma would offer to walk me home.

"Please, allow me to accompany you, Miss Eden. You never know what kind of trouble can be hidden in the dark. And you need me there to protect you, ne?"

Floating on thin air, I nodded. "I wouldn't mind that at all! Besides, the nighttime can get a little creepy sometimes; It would be nice to have someone to distract me from it."

"Oh?" Takuma quipped as we began our journey. "If you find the night scary, why would you come out at all, then?"

I didn't need to fabricate some clever answer, simply going with the truth and using his own words. "I just needed to calm down. You know, get my mind off things? I've been feeling a little suffocated lately, so I wanted to get some time to myself when I knew I wouldn't be bothered…"

Takuma chuckled with some kind of dark humor that I didn't understand. "That's understandable. I hope I didn't bother you?"

"No!" I gasped, rounding on the boy with earnest eyes. "Never!"

He blinked, face falling into neutrality. "…I was only kidding, Miss Eden. There's no need to get so worked up."

Squeaking, I face the ground once more, wringing my fingers and flushing mortifyingly. "…Gomen."

He laughed, fingers brushing over my shoulder as a ghost's touch. "There's no need to apologize, either! And while we're at it, you don't have to refer to me as '-sama'. Just call me Ichijou-kun, okay?"

It was more than okay. As thrilled as I was, he might as well have proposed our marriage. "Alright."

I should have told him to call me Enrai-chan, too, but I liked the way he addressed me as Miss Eden so much better.

I wasn't sure if it was good or not, but the rest of the time we spent strolling to my dorms was basked in silence. Maybe he was just so comfortable with me that he didn't feel the need to speak, or maybe the entire five minutes were the most awkward of his life. I didn't know, and I couldn't bring myself to particularly care. I was in heaven.

He departed from me at the dorm's door, bidding me a casual farewell (that didn't include a fairy-tale kiss on the hand, I was slightly upset to say) and went on his own way. I stood there like a statue, watching the woods until his starch white uniform could no longer be seem glowing in darkness. It was only then when I turned and made my way back to my room, walking on autopilot while my mind was busy replaying every detail of the past half hour.

By the time I snapped out of it, I was already laying in bed, atop the covers and fully clothed. Bearing my teeth in elation, I hummed to myself as I prepared for bed and snuggled into the sheets, wanting to be more comfortable as I pondered my future relationship with Takuma.

It was certain, of course, that I was wrong about my assumption. Takuma didn't hate me at all - he just hadn't known me. Because he hadn't known me, he hadn't paid any extra attention. But now we were acquainted with a full twenty minutes or so of association between us. To be honest, I was sure that I was now twenty minutes ahead of ever other girl in the school. I had become a the forerunner in the race for Takuma's love because of a chance meeting in the dead of the night. How romantic!

Quivering with happiness, I spent the last five hours before the next day of reality began picturing my and Takuma's wedding. It would take place at noon in the springtime, where Takuma's head of blond hair would shimmer like a halo in the sunlight, and be full of singing birds, blushing blossoms and the promise for an infinite life of love together.

* * *

**(A/N) Yeah, so... to be completely honest, I really have no idea what I'm doing with this story :] I have a few scenes planned out, but as for overall plot and comflict... I've pretty much got nothing. But don't worry too much - I'll figure things out, just not as soon as some of you might want me to DX**

**Am I doing okay with Takuma's character, by the way? I haven't read/watched VK in FOREVER, so as I was rereading this I was thinking things like "Would he say that?" and "Is that situation even possible?"**

**Please leave some feedback to help the poor, struggling author! Feed the needy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Vale of Avalon**

Chapter Five

* * *

"You're happy."

I grinned secretly to myself, my fingers curling into the fabric covering my chest.

"It's weird."

Her words didn't mean a thing to me. I'd barely slept an hour but I had never felt better. I was laying on a cloud. There was no rain in the forecast.

"Okay, seriously, you're freaking me out. Get out of bed! It's almost noon."

Sighing, I decided that I might as well listen to Eira. After all, I couldn't spent the rest of my life dwelling on the night I had spent with Takuma. I would need to get up if there was a chance to see him again.

…But it was daytime. He wouldn't be out and about just yet. I could pine a little longer.

"Ergh, fine. Just lay there like a worm. I have to get ready since I'm going out later."

The idea was still so surreal. I hadn't just dreamed so vividly of our meeting, had I? I hoped not, but at the same time it didn't matter. I knew that I would eternally cherish the minutes on the Academy grounds when the universe revolved around only Takuma and I, whether it was only my imagination of not. There was nothing that could wipe the smile from my face, dim the stars in my eyes, train the butterflies in my gut …

I was running out of metaphors. But that didn't matter - I still had Takuma.

The sudden fit of giggles that I couldn't be bothered to hold back must have been too much for my roommate. When a knock came to the door in the next moment she was quick to jump at the distraction rather than command me to act the part of her personal butler.

"Ohayou, sempai-tachi. Please allow me to inspect your dorm."

"Eh? It's that time of year already, huh?"

"Hai. I must confiscate anything that I consider disruptive or hazardous."

"…Can you confiscate _her_?"

Just out of curiosity, I allowed myself to float down to earth and join reality. Sitting up for the first time since settling into bed the night before, my gaze wandered to the doorway where the female prefect and Eira were staring at me with unreadable expressions. Eira's look could be disregarded as lackadaisical loathing, but what was odd was that the young prefect had dropped her jaw as if she had laid eyes on a ghoul. Did the lack of sleep have some kind of horrendous physical effect on my face?

"Whatever," Eira spoke after a short period of enduring the strange silence. "I don't have time for freshmen or freaks. I have friends to hang out with."

And she was gone before my next blink.

"Anou…" I muttered awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to make of this situation. Takuma taking a back seat for the moment, I decided to find out what was wrong with the girl gaping at me as if I were the living dead. "Daijoubu?"

The girl snapped out of it, instantly braking out into shaking laughter that left no doubt in my mind that she was anything but fine. Rubbing the crown of her head, my kouhai plastered on a meretricious grin.

"Daijoubu! I just spaced out for a second there, Enrai-sempai!"

I smiled, glad she was alright and understanding her daydreaming completely. Was there a Takuma in her life as well, I wondered?

…But how did she know my name?

Stepping into my room but leaving the door open behind her (I expected, judging by the large hamper waiting in the middle of the hall, that she was prepared to exhume some sort of taboo from under my bed and toss it into the awaiting bin) Yuuki seemed to pull herself together and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Bewildered, I blinked. How had she known I was sick? I was nowhere near popular enough for the lower classmen to hear of my sudden illness. It was strange, but I decided to let the matter go and simply go along with the polite banter.

"I'm much better," I replied honestly, hoping the delight threatening to burst out from my body wasn't too outwardly obvious. "Thank you for asking."

The situation was atypical, but I was thankful for the kindness filling the walls. This poor room hadn't seen much camaraderie since Eira and I had moved in. Even if Yuuki was here to uncover any potential threats I might have been hiding, her untrammeled naivety and cheering spirit was a refreshing change. Besides, it's not as if I had anything hiding in the closet.

"Wow," the girl mumbled, apparently coming to the same conclusion that I had just been musing. "This is the first room I've come to where I haven't had to take away any Night Class memorabilia!"

No, she didn't have the power to take away my Night Class treasures. There was no way she or anyone else could remove my memories.

Smirking with tight-lips, I hid my mouth behind a hand and shifted into a more alert position. "No, I'm not the type to obsess to that extent. And Eira, well… she's too busy praising her own looks to care about how beautiful anyone else is."

Yuuki straightened up, having been on her knees to scan beneath Eira's bed, and cast me a sympathetic look. "She's always like that, then? I thought she might have just been having a bad morning and was upset that I had shown up for the inspection."

I shook my head somberly. "Unfortunately, that's the attitude I always have to live with."

"That's too bad," the prefect said, wandering over to Eira's dresser and sliding her eyes across her collection of perfumes. "My roommate and I are good friends. She's so helpful when I need to catch up with classes because of my patrolling duties."

"Yes, that seems like a lot of work," I nodded. Ironically, I tried to consider why strolling along the grounds after dark was deemed necessary at all. It just seemed like a needless practice to me. What could really be lurking around after dark?

"Yes, more than you can imagine," Yuuki alluded, lowering her head with a sigh of what I could only assume to be exhaustion. "It's too bad the Chairman didn't let you become a prefect! Sometimes I wish we could take in more people to help out."

Become a prefect? I hadn't even thought of that. It was perfect! I could become a prefect and become closer to Takumathan any of his fan girls could ever dream! I could already imagine it: he would be sure to notice my addition and loyalty to the job; I would protect him with my life, if it came down to it! And besides, as Yuuki had said - she could use the cover. I just had to approach it the right way as to not make myself look like just another sycophant trying to worm my way in.

And maybe Yuukiwas the key. The Chairman could never turn down someone who was so dutifully looking out for his beloved daughter's best interest and offering more opportunities for family visits. Because, after all, if I was there to take on some of the weight Yuuki could be let off for a few hours to spend time with him. I just needed to reciprocate that idea the right way and I was as good as in! I would go see the Chairman about it right away!

"Do you think I could, Yuuki?" I nearly squealed in excitement, clearly startling the poor girl who was used to me lulling around like a handicap. "Do you think if I went to see your father he would let me become a prefect?!"

I couldn't grasp the look of horror that flashed across her face. "No!"

My brown lowered, euphoria dispersing. "Huh? What do you mean?"

She had said she wished the Chairman had let me become a prefect, hadn't she? Then why…

Wait. She had said it was too bad the Chairman _didn't let me_ become a prefect. Didn't let me? It sounded like I had tried before. But I hadn't. Had I? Of course not! I would have remembered something like that. What was going on?

"I-I meant," Yuuki stuttered, visible fumbling on her thoughts. "I meant to say _wouldn't_ let you. H-he doesn't want anymore prefects!"

I frowned, gazing out the window. Why hadn't she just said that, then? Now I was disappointed. But maybe I could still try, just for the sake of it? I knew I would regret letting this chance slip by if I didn't take advantage of it.

"Ne, Yuuki," I uttered quietly, slipping off of my mattress and padding lightly to my closet. "It wouldn't hurt to try would it? Even if you say the Chairman doesn't want any more prefects, I could still try my hardest to convince him."

She was silent for a while, giving me the time to step into the closet and pick out some casual week-end cloths. Her silence forced me to assume that she had left at some point while I was changing and abandoned my inquiry in favor of continuing her searches. When I emerged from the closet, dressed and nearly prepared for the day, I was almost startled to see her still standing in the middle of the room, unmoving and in the same state that I had left her. But was more alarming was the distress that seemed to plague her.

"Yuuki, do you need to lie down?" I question, tilting my head in concern. She really didn't look verywell. So saturnine. Despite that fact, though, she shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Iie, sempai. I'm fine. And I guess… there's really nothing stopping you from visiting the Chairman. Just… just don't expect things to work out in your favor. That's all."

I nodded, hoping that I managed to mask my confusion decently. Why did she sound so morbid when she said that? Her dolorous tone made it seem as if I was visiting the executioner. There was nothing bad about become a prefect, was there? Why did the job suddenly have a black cloud hanging over it? The Chairman had always struck me as an agreeable and charismatic man: the worst that would happen was him politely refusing my request to join the team. That wasn't so horrible. So then, what about my plan had gotten Yuuki so frazzled?

"Aa, I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

"…so, you see, I figured that if you were to have more helping hands then the prefects could take shifts. For instance, I could cover the Night Class in the evenings and Yuuki could join you in a family supper! I think you'd enjoy that, ne, Chairman Kurosu?"

His face showed anything but joy. For a moment I was reminded of a man _mourning_. What was there to be upset about? Why was he looking so morbidly nostalgic? The questions concerning his strange attitude were endless. I though Yuuki would be the key; I thought he would dance around the room in elation and ask to adopt me for suggesting this arrangement.

He looked ready to cry.

"Enrai-san," he said, tone concentrated and full of a mysterious purpose. "I must ask you something, and I would greatly appreciate a truthful answer."

I was beginning to get scared. What was this about, now? Had something happened that I didn't know about? Had there been a crime of some sort committed? Did he suspect me?  
Had I done something wrong?

With no other choice in the matter, I gulped and nodded my consent.

"Why do you want to become a prefect so badly? Really?"

I didn't know whether to be relieved or even more nervous. I was stumped.

"Etou…" I let out, buying my time with some useless ramble before answering. "I suppose I just… want to help. Yuuki always seems so worn out and the idea of only two people handling the entire school day and night seems a bit ridiculous to me. I don't know why you've decided that she and that other boy are the only two prefects the academy needs, but I believe your judgment in that sense was wrong and the two are in over their heads."

It may have sounded a little harsher than I intended, but I was in no state to sugar coat my words any more. Now that I was here and thinking about it in more circumspect, the chairman's move in employing only two young teens was selfish and foolish. I though back to the evenings I had spent watching the Night Class migrate, where Yuukiwould be beside herself hollering and rounding up obsessive females. Really, it was a wonder how the petite brunette managed the feat at all. Between her and her rebel partner, the prefect system seemed at the moment, to me, unreliable and destined to break.

I took a deep breath before looking up again. Chairman Kurosu held our stare, his golden gaze hard and penetrating. I nearly shuddered, not knowing what sort of subliminal message he was trying to convey in the connection.

"And it has nothing to do with the proximity to the Night Class itself?"

My cheeks flushed scarlet, I tiny whimper leaving my throat. I nibbled on my lips to quiet the involuntary reaction. "It might be a small benefit, to be honest."

His golden gaze was penetrating. I came close to shivering after a moment, completely unnerved by his stare. The intensity was breathtaking.

If there hadn't been sunshine pouring in from the open windows and the singing of birds in the distance I would havebeen terrified, I think. This man in front of me was not the same Chairman I had grown to know during the past two years at the school - this man was someone drastically altered. Kurosu Kaienwas a jovial man who vibrantly cheered out his emotions to the world. I would never imagine he could be so forlorn and miserable. Tortured, even. From something as petty as an offer to prefect? It just didn't make sense.

"Enrai-san," his dulled tone called out, snapping me from my reverie. "You must trust me with my decision, alright? Even if it doesn't make sense to you, the assignments of Zero and Yuuki are specifically handed to them for a reason. I am sorry, but they are all the help I need in securing the grounds."

My fingers went numb. Something told me I should have been angry about the injustice of his vague apology, but any chagrin was masked with sobriety. I would dwell on the subject more later, maybe, but for now the only thing I wanted to do was get out of this office and away from this man as soon as possible. I couldn't explain it, but there was a certain gloom in the room that repelled me. It was instinct that was beginning to take over, urging me to leave and rioting in my gut.

"Of course, Chairman Kurosu," I forced out, my voice cracked and inexplicably hoarse. "I understand."

I didn't understand. Not at all. What was going on? I wanted to find out. I _needed_ to find out. But not from him - I had to do it on my own.

"You must promise me that you won't go out looking for answers, Enrai-san," the Chairman said with impeccable timing. I stiffened, not liking the feeling that he knew what was going through my mind.

Against my better judgment I caught his eye. I had always respected the head and founder of the school, and perhaps that was the only reason I didn't demand that he elaborate. When a person drilled you with that kind of silent, desperate plea, it was near impossible to deny them.

I opened my mouth wordlessly, trying to dig out the words that he was looking for. I didn't want him looking at me like that anymore. "Y-yes. I… promise."

Could I really promise that? Would I be able hold back from snooping around on my own? Did I have that much self control to ignore my curiosity?

"I have to ask," I blurted out without properly thinking, "why? Why don't you want anyone else?"

I would settle for this. If I got a decent answer I would let the fine details go and rely on the fact that the chairman was doing what he thought was best. He just needed to give me something to keep me content.

It seemed that this time it was he who was at a loss for words. He let an eternal moment pass, his blink seeming to take an hour. After a few years, though, he leaned forward on his desk and placed his chin delicately onto his folded hands.

"I'm afraid the specifics cannot be shared with you," he spoke evenly, crushing my hope, "but I'm sure that you would not be able to handle the responsibilities of the prefects."

I focused on keeping my breath steady, mulling over that strange explanation. "How do you know?"

My mouth was working on autopilot, as it often did when I was under pressure. Mind and tongue were two entirely different systems that weren't at all connected at all.

"Well," Kurosu reasoned, "…let's just say it's a strong suspicion."

* * *

I couldn't find the words to describe what I was feeling. Rejection, maybe? But that wasn't it. There was anger, too, I admit. And betrayal. Confusion, anxiety, doubt, dread, and guilt. Guilt, oddly enough, because I knew that I couldn't keep my promise to the chairman; I wouldn't be able to stay away. Rather than settle my nerves and earn my trust, my interest had only been peaked after speaking with the man. If the chairman was going to hide something from me and not even give me a reasonable cause for it, then I couldn't be expected to be assured by his empty words. I wouldn't depend on someone who wouldn't depend on me.

But I wasn't a delinquent. I wouldn't disregard all the rules on focus blindly on uncovering whatever it was the principal was trying to keep hidden. I needed to have more finesse - this needed to be done carefully. I would investigate for myself, find out exactly what was going on with the prefects and prove to Chairman Kurosu that I could handle the mysterious 'responsibility' behind the job.

Because I could, without a doubt, handle whatever responsibility was thrown at me. As long as Takuma was involved I could make it through anything. There was nothing that would quell my determination to get closer to him. He would accept me, even if I had to give my life for it.

* * *

**(A/N) A very pathetic update, but an update all the same. I know things are going around in boring circles right now, but I feel like I have to establish the beginning plot before I can really get into the romance. I guess I'd rather have things go slow and steady than jumping into it too fast, so I'll be focusing more on Eden's development for a while. I'll try my best to throw in Takuma where it seems appropriate :]**


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